A World Away
by Suki59
Summary: This all-human Sookie/Eric love story takes place during World War II. She's a nurse. He's a pilot. Love's bound to happen. AH, AU, OOC. Nominated for a Lemon Tart Award and a Fangie.
1. Chapter 1

Charlaine Harris owns these characters.

Sookie

I was tired and afraid. But I was getting used to those feelings. I had been captured by a small band of German soldiers and I had no idea where I was. I suspected that I was still in France, but my main concern every day was simply staying alive.

I was an Army nurse with the 164th General Hospital for detached service. I worked on hospital trains that picked up wounded soldiers from the front. When soldiers were injured they were first treated in a field station where triage was performed. Then they were transferred to the hospital train and taken to Cherbourg to board a hospital ship to be transported safely away from the fighting. I worked on the hospital trains, treating the wounded and preparing them for transfer. I knew that we were often dangerously close to the front lines, but I had become accustomed to our routine and as odd as it sounds now, I was fairly comfortable with the level of danger I was in on most days. The Americans had only landed at Normandy a couple of months before I arrived, and parts of France were still unstable.

I kicked myself every day for my stupidity at getting captured. Maybe because I had become so used to my routine, I had forgotten just how dangerous it could be. At a scheduled stop, we boarded the four casualties and saw to their treatment. They were all stable and cared for. My friend Tara and I had developed the habit of searching the immediate area for fresh fruit or better yet, fresh eggs from the local farms whenever the opportunity presented itself. I had been on just such a mission. I had filled my hat with the eggs and was headed back to the waiting train when I heard whispers in the surrounding trees. I froze and quickly felt the unmistakable sensation of a gun in my back. I dropped the hat and raised my hands. My brain registered the loss of the eggs before it deciphered the level of danger I was now in. We silently marched away from where the train waited and my heart raced as my fate became more and more uncertain.

That was four days ago. Since then, I have been the captive of this small group of soldiers who have set up a makeshift camp in the woods. I speak no German, but they made it clear to me immediately that I was to treat a wounded officer who seemed to be their leader. He had been shot in the leg and so could no longer walk. The seven men who took care of him set up a tent and a camp and found me. I suspected that my survival depended on the officer's recovery and because I had limited medical supplies, I did my best but also threw in a good measure of prayer that he would heal.

He told me that his name was Andre, but I knew little else. He was young with a small frame—had almost a boyish look to him. I wouldn't describe him as kind, really, but I had not been harmed or raped, as I had feared. I was allowed to sleep in the tent on the floor beside him. I was fed regularly, but dreaded every time I needed to use the bathroom, as I was constantly watched by one of the soldiers. It's hard to go with a stranger pointing a gun staring at you as you squat over a hole. I hoped that Andre was improving and would live, but then I wondered what these men had in store for me. As long as I was valuable as Andre's caretaker, I was kept alive. I feared what would happen when I was no longer needed.

I was lying on the floor of the tent, trying to sleep when I let my mind wander to a happier time. I thought of a night a long time ago in Atlanta when I was doing my nurse's training at Emory and I met a handsome young student named Eric Northman. Eric was training at Georgia Tech to become a pilot. Everyone knew that we would most likely enter the war at some point, and so everyone it seemed was preparing for service, planning their place in the inevitable. Had I been a man, I would have wanted to be a pilot. Maybe that's why I was drawn to him. Or maybe it was because he was so extremely handsome.

I had gone to the dance with a group of girlfriends. The band was wonderful. The room was filled with eager young men scanning the tables of pretty girls. Like most of us, I danced a lot that night. It seemed that every time a song would end and I would turn to head back to my table, there would be yet another boy asking for a dance. I was just about to accept the hand of such a boy when a deep voice said, "Actually, I believe she promised this one to me." I turned to the voice to object, knowing that I had done no such thing, when my voice caught in my throat. I was rendered speechless by the most intensely blue eyes I had ever seen. They were twinkling with a teasing look that made it hard to be mad. Before I knew what I was doing, I confirmed the ridiculous lie to the boy who had my hand and placed that same hand into the waiting hand of the blue-eyed boy. I mumbled an apology as the rejected boy walked away, and let myself be led to the dance floor, never taking my eyes off of the handsome face that was smiling broadly at me.

He was very tall and blond with chiseled features and a lean muscular physique. I couldn't help but notice how hard his shoulder felt as my hand rested on it and my waist seemed to burn at the touch of his hand on it. I looked at our clasped hands, at how his long masculine fingers gently grasped my own and followed his arm up to his neck and finally let my eyes be captured once again by that icy blue stare. He smiled gently as we swayed to the music. He seemed so strong and confident, and I felt like I would melt into a puddle of mush. My whole body seemed to be electrified by his closeness. It was as if no one else was in the room with us. I had never felt so intensely physically impacted by the touch of a man before. He leaned a little closer to my face and I wondered if I was blushing. Then it registered that he was waiting for me to say something, and I realized that he had asked me a question and I hadn't even heard him. I looked from his eyes down to his perfect lips as he smiled and asked again, "What's your name?"

"Sookie. Sookie Stackhouse."

"Eric Northman."

"It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you as well." He leaned closer and his cheek barely brushed against mine as his body danced a little closer to me. I closed my eyes and breathed in his scent as I felt little butterflies dancing in my stomach and a deep heat building a little further down. These were all new sensations to me and I felt overwhelmed. I shifted my hand from his shoulder to the back of his neck, letting him know that I wanted him closer. He responded by gently rubbing my cheek with his own and moving his thumb along my finger.

We danced like that for four or five songs in spite of the fact that they were not all slow songs. Finally, as the band announced it was time to take a break, he asked if I would like to get something to drink and maybe some fresh air. I didn't want to ever leave his arms, but I said yes as we headed for the terrace.


	2. Chapter 2

Sookie

Andre shifted and sat up. I sat up as well and looked to see what he needed. He spoke in German of course, but his gestures indicated that he needed to use the bathroom. I got up and retrieved the bottle we used. I turned my back as he filled it and then he closed his pants and handed me the warm container. As usual, I was escorted at gun point down to the creek. I emptied and rinsed the bottle out, and debated about going myself while I was out, but decided that I could probably hold it until morning. I so hated to go while being watched.

I settled back down on the floor beside Andre and went back to my thoughts of the night I met Eric. We spent a long time sitting on the terrace sipping punch and talking. It turned out that we were both from Louisiana and had both lost our parents fairly young. I had one brother, Jason, as well as my grandmother who raised me, and Eric had a sister named Pam. Eric was easy to talk to and we laughed a lot. He had such an air of confidence that I was drawn to, and of course, physically, I wanted to touch him, hold him, just be near him. After we finished our drinks, we went back to dancing and I just melted back into his arms like I lived there. Some dances we would just stare into each other's eyes and then during others I would rest my head on his chest while he kind of nuzzled my hair.

I could have danced in Eric's arms all night, but then the band played their last song and I knew that our magical night was ending. As the lights came up and people were leaving, Eric asked if he could see me home.

We'd started the night as a group of five girls, but on the walk home, we'd added three young men to our group. Eric and I hung back a little from the group and walked in silence. He reached for my hand and we held hands for the last few blocks. I never wanted to let go. When we got to the dorm, the girls all said their good nights to our escorts. I noticed one boy giving a friend a kiss on the cheek and I turned to Eric, hoping for the same. Instead, he bent down and gave me a very soft, chaste and all-too-brief kiss on the lips. I closed my eyes, savoring the lingering feel of the kiss even after he had pulled back. I opened my eyes to his beautiful eyes twinkling back at me and he just said, "Good night, Sookie Stackhouse." I whispered a good night that he probably didn't hear as I turned with the other girls and floated into the dorm.

Andre was asleep as indicated by his light snoring. I turned away from him and tried to sleep myself, but again, my thoughts drifted back to Eric. After that night at the dance, I waited, hoping to hear from him. I tried to go to every dance that promised the prospect of the Georgia Tech boys' presence, but never saw him. I was hurt and disappointed, of course. I had felt something powerful, magical almost that night in his arms, but apparently, he had not.

I didn't see him again until the end of the following school year. By that time I had met and was dating Bill steadily. I loved Bill in a way. He was my first real boyfriend, and he was sweet to me, but I knew that my future would most likely include joining the army and possibly working overseas. I wasn't interested in getting married right after school like a lot of the girls in my class, and I told this to Bill. So, even though he was my steady, we had no plans to marry right away.

During that last week of classes, there were a lot of parties and dances. People were celebrating the end of the semester. Many were graduating. And many of those were joining the service in anticipation of going to war. It was at such a dance that I saw Eric again. I was there with Bill, of course, and we had spent a great part of the night dancing. The party was in the rec room of one of the school buildings, and I left Bill to go and find the ladies room. It was down the hall, past several empty and dark classrooms. I was just emerging from the restroom when someone grabbed my hand and pulled me towards one of the classroom doors. I was so startled and at first thought it must be Bill, but then I looked up and saw Eric. My breath caught in my throat and my heart was racing by the time he had me inside one of the darkened rooms. He closed the door behind me and pulled me into his body as his lips crashed into mine. I knew it was wrong. This man had never pursued me after our initial meeting, and now I was with Bill. But as much as my brain screamed for me to stop, my body screamed even louder to go, go, go. I remembered his scent and instinctively opened my lips as my arms went up to his neck, pulling him down closer to me. His warm tongue found mine and one of my hands threaded through his hair. I couldn't get him close enough to me. We were both softly moaning and I felt what surely must have been his erection pressing against my hip and as it's significance registered in my overly heated brain, I felt my own lust rising between my legs. Bill had never kissed me like this, and all I could think was that I wanted to be kissed like this every day for the rest of my life.

After what seemed like a blissfully long time, Eric broke the kiss and trailed smaller ones down my neck. We were both panting heavily as he spoke into my neck, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I know you have a boyfriend. I've stayed away. But I had to see you one last time. I'm leaving for basic training tomorrow." I started to speak, but his hand found it's way up to my face and pulled me into another passionate kiss. To my own utter amazement, my hand that was resting on the back of Eric's neck dropped and wrapped itself around his waist. I felt the muscles of his lower back and then dropped my hand even lower to his spectacular behind and before I realized what I was doing, I was pressing him into me. As I felt his erection press further into my hip, my moans got a little louder. I thought, oh my god, we're going to have sex right here in this classroom. There was no way I would be able to stop. But then suddenly the kiss ended. Eric grabbed me just a little closer in a tight embrace as he kissed just behind my ear, and then he took a step back, opened the door and disappeared down the hall.

I took a step towards the wall beside the open door. I wondered if my legs would hold me up much longer. I put my hands on the wall and pressed my cheek into the cool painted concrete as I tried to steady my breathing. Once I had that under control, I made a fast dash back to the ladies room. I sat in the stall, watching my hands shake as I replayed the kiss over in my mind. I took my compact out of my purse and almost laughed out loud at the condition of my face. My lipstick was smeared all over my mouth and wisps of hair had fallen around my face. It took a minute for me to repair my damage and then I found my way back to the rec room where Bill was waiting. I looked at him and made the decision right then and there that I would never be able to marry Bill. Not after that kiss from Eric. I wanted more of that.


	3. Chapter 3

Sookie

I never saw Eric again, but I never forgot that kiss. Bill and I broke up of course and I've had quite a few dates since then, but my focus has been on my training and more recently on my job. I tried not to think of Eric most of the time, but since I'd been captured, I knew that there was a real possibility that I would not survive much longer and so gave myself permission to think of Eric as a gift to myself. I turned a little further away from the sleeping Andre and let the tears fall freely.

I woke early wishing I had taken the opportunity to relieve myself when I'd had the chance the night before. I rose and checked on Andre who was still sleeping peacefully. I stepped out into the early dawn and my guard escorted me down to the creek. I hadn't bathed for days of course and decided that my modesty was silly at this point. This man had seen me use the bathroom several times a day for days. I stripped from the waist down and waded into the creek. I squatted and did my business and then washed myself in the cool running water.

Eric

I'd be lying if I said that I never thought of Sookie Stackhouse. She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. The first night I met her was at a dance and we danced most of the night and talked a lot. I had watched her dancing with other guys before I asked her myself. Actually, I kind of forced her by pretending that she had already promised me a dance. I walked her home and kissed her goodnight and then spent the next few months debating with myself about seeing her again. I was so torn because I knew that I did not want to get seriously involved with a girl. I had my pilot training to complete and then basic training. I wanted to become a pilot and fight when we entered the war, which was looking inevitable. But I had never been so drawn to a girl before. Every fiber of my being was telling me that she could be the one, and that is precisely why I stayed away. I simply wasn't ready for the one.

I'd heard that she was dating Bill Compton and hated him even more. I suppose it was a given that someone would snatch her up, but I couldn't help but feel jealous. I'd seen them out together a few times and it always tied my stomach into knots, but I stayed away. It wasn't until the night before I left for basic that I lost my internal battle. I knew that there was a dance at Emory and I suspected that she'd be there with Bill. I watched them dance and waited until she went to the ladies room before I grabbed her hand and pulled her into a classroom. I don't know what I was thinking, but I kissed her hard. She responded with a passion that I had not expected. I apologized for my behavior but then took her into my arms again and thought that I might just fuck her over one of the desks in the room. I never expected to be the one that needed to put on the brakes, but I finally did just that. Because Sookie Stackhouse was not the kind of girl that you fucked in a classroom and then left for basic training. She was the kind of girl you married. Or at least she was the one that I wanted to marry. Holding her like that and feeling her in my arms as I kissed her, I knew that I loved her. And if I didn't stop myself right then and there, I never would have made it to basic or to the war itself, and so I tore myself away and ran out of the building before it was too late.

I tried no to think of Sookie very often because it depressed me to know that she was most likely now married to the idiotic Bill Compton and they most likely lived in a little house with a picket fence and she most likely was having his children and taking care of his home and making love to him every night. Those kinds of thoughts did me no good and so I avoided them. But the day I was shot and had to land my plane in an unknown area, I was afraid, really afraid for the first time in my life and so I gave myself permission to think of her. I knew that I may not live through the night and I wanted my last thoughts to be of her.

I had finished a bombing raid and was turning back to base when I came under attack. The plane was hit a few times, but I knew the instant my shoulder was hit. The pain was searing. I wasn't sure what kind of shape the plane was in, but I knew that I was losing blood fast and would most likely lose consciousness. I found a field and set her down, coming to a stop just before everything went black. When I woke, it was dark. My shoulder hurt immensely and there was blood covering the whole left side of my body. I wasn't certain where I was but knew that there were more Allied troops in the region than Germans, so my odds were fairly good at being rescued if I could just make it out of the plane. I knew as soon as dawn came that I'd be a sitting duck here in the open. I managed to get out of the plane and did a quick survey of the area. There was really no way of knowing which direction would be the smartest to travel in so I just started walking.

Within an hour or so the sun was starting to rise. I was walking through a wooded area when I heard the sound of running water. I figured it was fairly likely that a camp could be set up near the water and so I followed the sound. I could not have been more surprised to find what I did however as I neared the creek. There was a German soldier standing with his back leaning against a tree. I couldn't see his moving hand from my perspective but I could tell he was masturbating while watching something or someone in the creek. I followed his gaze to see an American woman (I recognized her uniform from the waist up.) bathing herself while squatting in the creek. She did have a spectacular ass from what I could see. I pulled out my knife and stole up behind the German while he was preoccupied and quickly buried my knife to the hilt into his back before he ever knew what hit him. He slumped quietly to the ground and I pulled my knife out and wiped the blade on his jacket. When I stood, I saw the woman who was standing now facing me, eyes wide and mouth open, still naked from the waist down. Sookie Stackhouse.

I briefly wondered whether or not I was hallucinating, but then she was definitely real and right there. She closed her mouth and eyed my shoulder and then wordlessly hurried to put her clothes back on. The instant she was dressed, I grabbed her hand and we started running back towards the plane. There were obviously Germans in the area, but I had not seen any on my path and so it seemed the logical choice to return to the plane. I was concerned about my condition, but knew that I had to try and get Sookie to safety somehow.

Sookie

The creek water was refreshing and I would have almost enjoyed it if I wasn't constantly aware of my guard watching me. I thought of a little creek on my grandmother's property where Jason and I used to play as children and I was dangerously close to feeling homesick, but knew that I couldn't start down that path. I finished up and turned to wade back to the bank. As I started towards my clothes, I sensed something odd about my guard. I didn't want to look directly at him until I had re-dressed though. I started to reach for my underpants tucked into my boot and as I looked down, I caught something out of the corner of my eye. Something was definitely different, and so I stole a glance in the guard's direction. He was lying on the ground, possibly dead, and Eric Northman was bent over him, cleaning a knife on his jacket. I thought, that's it, I have lost my senses and am now seeing things. I stood and shook my head a little to clear it, and as Eric stood, I realized that not only was it really him, but he was covered in blood himself. My training kicked in and I began to mentally assess his wound and then I looked back to his face and there were those same blue eyes that had captured me back in school. Only there was no devilish twinkle in them this time. He looked shocked and afraid. I quickly dressed and took his hand. He turned and we ran through the woods together. I had no idea where we were going, but as long as it was away from my captors, it seemed right to me.

After what seemed like nearly an hour of running in silence, during which time I did have to stop a few times to catch my breath, we finally emerged onto a field and I saw what I assumed to be Eric's plane. I recognized it as a Mustang, which was a one-seater, and wondered what his plan was. We approached the plane and Eric climbed up into the cockpit. I'd carefully watched his footing and followed him up. I sat on his lap and tucked my head up under his chin, avoiding the injured shoulder, trying to make myself as compact as possible. We were still out of breath from our run through the woods, and I had an absurd thought of a long time ago in a darkened classroom when we were close like this and panting heavily for a different reason. I recognized his scent and even though it was completely inappropriate and insane, I felt the familiar butterflies in my stomach at his nearness to me. I had a brief thought that if we die now then at least I would die in his arms.

Within minutes, we were turned around and speeding along the field. I felt the woosh in my stomach as we became airborne and began to climb. I kept my eyes focused on the blood on Eric's jacket, anxious to tend to his wound as I'd been trained to do. We didn't fly for very long before I sensed that we were losing altitude. I assumed that we were landing and felt Eric's body tense and so I held onto him fast as we roughly hit the ground. He cried out in pain and I stole a glance up to his neck and watched beads of sweat running down into his collar. The plane slowed to a stop and Eric opened the cockpit. I climbed out and retraced my earlier steps until I was on the ground. I looked back to Eric. He was very pale and covered with sweat and I knew he was going into shock. As soon as he was out, I climbed back in and started searching for the first aid kit. I found it, unfastened the strap that held it in place and scrambled back out. The confused look on his face disappeared when he saw what I had retrieved. I looked around us to see where we were and we seemed to have landed in a field very similar to the one we had just left. I saw no evidence of any sort of base anywhere nearby and assumed that we had just made an emergency landing and had not made it back to where Eric had intended to take us. Eric reached for my shoulder to brace himself, but his knees buckled and he shakily dropped to the ground on his knees. I knelt down under Eric's good arm and helped him stand again. I could tell he was very weak. Supporting him as best I could, we walked to the edge of the field towards a stand of trees. Within a few yards of reaching the wooded area, Eric's knees gave way again only this time he collapsed completely. I went down with him, but then sat up and looked at him. He was unconscious but still breathing. I looked all around, but saw nothing but woods and the field we had landed on. No buildings in sight. I left the first aid kit beside Eric and started running through the woods. I looked up at the sky to note where the sun was so I could get my bearings and would be able to find my way back to him.


	4. Chapter 4

Sookie

Fortunately, within probably ten minutes of running, I found a farm. I banged on the door of the house, but no one answered. I ran to the barn and found a wheelbarrow and started back out when I was stopped by the sight of a small dark-haired woman blocking the door, pointing a rifle at me. I set the wheelbarrow down and raised my arms. I started to tell her what I was doing, knowing that she most likely didn't understand any English. I told her that Eric was dying in the woods and that I needed her to help me, that he was an American pilot who had saved me from German captors and he was wounded and if I could only get him back here to the house that maybe I could save him. Then I said that I had to save him because I loved him and I broke down in tears. I hit my knees and buried my face into my hands, sobbing loudly.

My hysterics were interrupted by the touch of hands on my shoulders. The woman knelt before me and took me into her arms and held me as my body was racked with sobs. She spoke to me gently in French. Her words were soothing and the feel of her soft hands stroking my hair and comforting me felt so good. As I felt myself getting control of my emotions again, I pulled back and looked into her eyes. I weakly said, "Will you help me?" She nodded yes even though I didn't know if she understood me. I stood and grabbed the handles of the wheelbarrow again. The woman picked up the rifle and waited at the door. I grabbed a horse blanket on my way out and threw it into the wheelbarrow, and then we were off. I ran as fast as I could while pushing the awkward wheelbarrow and my companion was right behind me.

I found Eric exactly where I'd left him and knelt to feel for a pulse. He was still alive. I pulled on his good arm until he was sitting up and the woman set the rifle down and placed the wheelbarrow under Eric's back, tipping it forward. We each took a shoulder (I took the bloody one.) and pulled him until he was in the wheelbarrow. I was grateful that he was unconscious because I'm sure the pain would have been unbearable for him as I pulled on his injured shoulder. I covered him with the blanket and set the first aid kit beside him. His legs were hanging over the front, feet touching the ground, and so we needed to pull, rather than push him. He was too heavy for me to pull by myself, and so the woman put her gun into the wheelbarrow beside Eric and grabbed a handle. Together we began to slowly make our way through the woods, and I wondered how on earth I would have ever been able to do this alone.

As we neared the farm, Eric began to groan as we would hit bumps in our path. As I had hoped, the woman steered the wheelbarrow towards the house rather than the barn. We stopped at the front door and I pulled the blanket off of Eric. He was covered with sweat again and in and out of consciousness. I yelled his name into his ear, hoping to rouse him, and realized that it was the first word I had spoken to him. He opened his eyes and looked at me and then up to the woman standing beside us. I said, "Help us get you inside." He kind of nodded and raised his good arm. The woman pulled on it to help him stand and I tried to help him, holding onto his torso. As I braced myself under his injured arm, he groaned loudly in pain. The three of us moved awkwardly through the house into a bedroom behind the kitchen. We sat Eric onto the bed and the woman chattered away in French as she ran from the room. She returned with the horse blanket and placed it over the clean white coverlet behind Eric before we lay him back onto the bed. I removed his boots and pulled his feet onto the bed as she returned again with the first aid kit. I carefully began to open Eric's jacket and shirt so that I could examine the wound. As I leaned over it I heard Eric whisper, "Sookie," and then he was out again. It was just as well, because treating the wound was going to be painful.

Eric

Sookie and I made it back to the plane. I was in a great deal of pain, but felt strong enough to fly. While I was in the air, however, I began to feel weaker as my adrenaline rush began to recede. I recognized the feelings as I had just experienced them earlier before I lost consciousness. Sookie was in my lap, clinging closely to my body so I could maneuver without her getting in the way. I wanted nothing more than to get her to safety and knew that our best bet was for me to put the plane down again. If I lost consciousness in the air, we would both be killed. If I could only get the plane safely on the ground, then at least she would have a chance to survive and my last act on this planet would have been a worthy one.

I found a grassy field not unlike the one we had just left and made my descent. Once on the ground, we climbed out of the plane. Sookie went back for the first aid kit. She supported me under my good arm and helped me walk towards some trees. We made it into the woods before everything went black.

I woke to an excruciating pain in my shoulder. I seemed to be moving and every time I felt a jarring, pain shot through me like a flame. When the motion stopped, the pain was a little better. I heard a woman call my name loudly in my ear and opened my eyes. I saw Sookie Stackhouse and for an instant wondered if I was dead. Then I remembered what had happened and I looked up and saw another woman standing beside me. Sookie asked if I could help them get me inside and so I gathered all my strength and tried to stand. The two women helped me into a house and as I sat on an actual bed, I thought well, this is a fine place to die. On a real bed with Sookie Stackhouse. I felt her lay me back onto the bed and pull my feet up. She began to unbutton my shirt and I had one last euphoric thought that Sookie was undressing me to make love and then I was out.

Sookie

My companion and our savior was named Sophie-Anne LeClerq. Eric was apparently in her father's bed and her father was away, although I wasn't clear on exactly where he was. She seemed to be alone in the house. She immediately put water on to boil and brought me clean rags and the first aid kit. She sterilized an assortment of knives and other utensils as well as needle and thread and handed them to me one at a time with a pair of sterilized tongs. She had obviously had some experience in first aid and stood beside me while I worked. Fortunately, Eric's wound seemed to be the result of a single piece of shrapnel, and it was not so heavily embedded that I could not remove it fairly easily. My main concern was shock from the blood loss and of course, infection. Once Eric's wound was cleaned, stitched up and dressed, I wanted to get him under the covers, but was also aware of Sophie-Anne's concern for her clean linens. I explained to her that I would bathe him before putting him under the covers and she seemed to get it. She brought me more clean towels and a second pot of water, gathered the knives and utensils and left the room, closing the door behind her.

I removed the rest of Eric's clothing and began to bathe him. I had to remind myself more than once that I was a nurse and that he was my patient and nothing more, but a part of me couldn't help but admire his obvious beauty. I had bathed many men many times, but I had never bathed one that I had kissed and wanted to make love to. I'd be lying if I said that it was no different.

Once he was clean, I maneuvered him to one side of the bed before removing the horse blanket and pulling the covers down. Then I scooted him back to the side with the cool exposed sheet and pulled the covers over him, tucking him in carefully. I gathered his dirty clothes and opened the door. Sophie-Anne took the clothes from me and helped me clean out and put away the pots of water and towels and rags. Soon his room was neat as a pin again and he slept soundly under the crisp white coverlet. Sophie-Anne took me by the hand to where she had a bath drawn for me and some clean clothes laid out. I could have kissed her, but instead stripped happily. She took my dirty uniform and closed the door behind her as I eased into the heavenly, if not a bit tepid, bath. I bathed and cleaned my teeth and quickly dressed in Sophie-Anne's skirt and blouse (the shoes and bra were a little small, but I got them on) and met her in the kitchen as she set a bowl of soup and glass of water down for me. I checked on Eric again before diving into the most delicious food I had ever tasted.

I took a glass of water and suitable pan and bottle back into Eric's room and sat in the chair by the bed, watching him sleep. He still looked pale, but was no longer perspiring, which was a good sign. I studied his beautiful face and let my mind wander back to the night we met and how handsome he was as he moved me across the dance floor. Then I thought of how his lips felt on mine that night and then later in the passionate encounter in the dark classroom. That seemed like a lifetime ago. I had never experienced such passion before or since. I wondered at the chance that he was the one who found me in the creek and saved me from the Germans. How could that be a coincidence? Was it my fate to be saved by this man? To have him re-enter my life at this point? I must have drifted off to sleep in the chair because the next thing I knew, I opened my eyes to see Eric's beautiful blue eyes open and looking at me. He had a tiny smile on his face and looked so peaceful and happy. I just stared, mesmerized by his beauty for a moment until he licked his dry lips and my nurse brain clicked into place. I jumped up and lifted his head, holding the water glass to his lips and told him to drink. He took several swallows before I lowered his head back to the pillow. He sighed a heavy breath and smiled back at me again.

"I removed a piece of shrapnel from your shoulder. It wasn't very deep. You should be fine, but you'll need to rest of course. I'm sure you need to use the bathroom. Would you like the pan or the bottle?" His smile faded. "There's no need to be embarrassed, Eric. I'm a nurse. I do this all the time."

He studied my face for a moment, seeming to think of his answer. "Bottle."

"Okay. Would you like some help?"

"Can I try by myself first?"

"Of course." I handed him the bottle as he began to sit up a little, grimacing in pain. Then I left the room for what seemed like an appropriate amount of time.

When I returned, he was back under the covers and I wordlessly took the half-full bottle from the nightstand and left the room. I returned with the clean bottle and Sophie-Anne followed me into the room with a bowl of soup and introduced herself. He spoke a little bit of French apparently and they had an exchange that ended in smiles on both faces. She left the room and I helped Eric sit up a little so he could eat. I held the bowl because he wanted to feed himself with his good hand, which was a good sign. Then he drank the rest of the glass of water and settled back into the bed again. He painfully scooted over a bit and patted the bed beside him. I sat where he indicated and he took my hand in his and looked me in the eye and simply said, "Thank you."


	5. Chapter 5

Eric

The first sensation I felt when I woke was pain in my shoulder and I immediately remembered what had happened to me. Then I became aware that I was in a soft, clean, comfortable bed and that I was naked. I had no memory beyond lying on the bed, but when I opened my eyes and saw Sookie, I realized that she had most likely taken care of me. She looked so beautiful sleeping in the chair beside me. She was wearing civilian clothes and her hair was damp in little wisps framing her face. For a brief instant, I forgot the war and the pain and all the hell I'd seen and was just a man in a room with a beautiful woman in a pretty skirt and blouse. And not just any beautiful woman, but Sookie Stackhouse, the girl of my dreams. I was transported back to the night I first met her and was taken by her beauty. She was even more beautiful now if that was possible. Her eyes opened and she smiled at me for a moment before she jumped up and helped me drink some water. I hadn't even realized how thirsty I was and it tasted like heaven. Then she told me that she had removed some shrapnel from my shoulder and asked if I needed to use the bathroom. Her question reminded me that yes, indeed, I did need to go and the thought of her helping me with such a task quickly took my good mood away. She explained that she was a nurse, but nurse or not, she was still the object of my desire and I didn't want her first look at me naked to be to help me use the bathroom. Just as I'd had that thought, I realized that she must have stripped and bathed me and then I really was embarrassed.

I managed to fill the bottle unassisted fortunately, and then Sookie brought in a French woman who was clearly our hostess. I spoke some French and thanked her and introduced myself. She seemed very kind. I ate some soup and drank some more water and started to feel a little better. Sookie sat beside me on the bed and we held hands and I thanked her for saving my life. She reminded me that I had saved hers first, so we decided to call it even. The mood lightened for a moment, but then at the same time we seemed to realize just how close to death we had both been and we squeezed hands and just quietly looked into each other's eyes.

I started to get sleepy again and I told Sookie I'd feel better if she would sleep beside me and not in the uncomfortable looking chair. I scooted over a little more and she stretched out on top of the covers. I pulled her to me with my right hand and she gently rested her head on my good shoulder while my arm held her close to me. I fell back to sleep thinking that this was as close to heaven as I'd ever get.

When I woke, I was aware of someone else in the room. I opened my eyes to find Sophie-Anne retrieving my dishes from the nightstand. She noticed that I was awake and apologized, whispering because Sookie was still asleep. I thanked her again and she told me that I was very lucky to have such a woman who loved me so. I thought that I must have misunderstood her. I said in my broken French, "You mean I'm lucky that she knew me?"

"No, she loves you." And then to make it clearer she spoke the English word, love. I must have looked confused because then she said, "She told me so. In the barn. That's why I helped her. She loves you."

I was shocked but just replied, "Yes. I am very lucky. For both of you to have helped me."

Sophie-Anne tiptoed out of the room and I stared at the ceiling absorbing the words I had just heard.

Sookie

Eric invited me to sleep beside him and even though I knew it was inappropriate, I couldn't resist the lure of a real bed and the added luxury of lying beside the man of my dreams. Under the circumstances, I decided that we could bend the rules a bit and that I certainly deserved such a reward. I fell asleep almost immediately.

When I woke up, my head was still resting on Eric's shoulder. I had been sleeping so soundly, I had a brief thought that I hoped I hadn't drooled on him. I carefully sat up and looked at him. He was awake and smiling at me. "How are you feeling?"

"Better. But I need to use the bottle again. Should I try and get up?"

"No, no. Maybe later. I don't want you getting dizzy. You lost quite a bit of blood. Here." I handed him the bottle. "I need to go too. I'll be back in a minute." I left him to do his business while I took care of my own.

Sophie-Anne had our uniforms clean and drying by the fire, and had prepared a dinner of fresh bread and cheese and wine. I sat at the foot of the bed and Sophie-Anne took the chair and the three of us had a lovely dinner together. She really was so sweet and I thanked her through Eric many times. I told her that she reminded me a little of my closest friend Tara with whom I worked on the train.

After dinner and after Sophie-Anne had left us alone Eric begged me to let him try and go to the bathroom by himself. I was worried that he might fall, but finally gave in. I found a robe of Sophie-Anne's father's and turned my back while Eric put it on. Then I helped him to the outhouse and told him to call me when he was ready to go back. He wasn't the first patient I'd ever seen highly motivated to get better so that he could avoid the bedpan. It was a good sign, actually. I'd seen many men in too much pain to care about modesty. I was glad to see that he was feeling strong enough to walk and of course, as a nurse, I was glad to see that his body was working normally after a meal.

I heard my name called and helped him back to the house. He asked if he could brush his teeth as well, and I helped him stand while he cleaned his teeth, but said no when he asked about shaving. I decided that that task could wait until the morning and that he had probably had enough excitement for the night.

As he got back to the bed, I turned my back again and when I heard him settle under the covers I took his robe and hung it up. I got him to drink another glass of water and left him to sleep while I sat by the fire in the kitchen with Sophie-Anne. She and I talked quietly and managed to understand each other a little in spite of the language barrier.

As it got late, I checked on Eric and got him to fill the bottle for the last time for the evening. I returned the clean bottle to the nightstand and was wondering about the sleeping arrangements when Sophie-Anne entered the room and handed me a nightgown. I thanked her and to my surprise, she kissed my cheek and said goodnight to both of us and closed the door on her way out. And I was left alone with Eric.


	6. Chapter 6

Eric

After my nap with Sookie, I was feeling much better. Sophie-Anne joined us in the bedroom and we all ate dinner together. I acted as interpreter. After dinner, I needed to use the bathroom and was simply mortified at the thought of handing Sookie a used bedpan. The bottle was bad enough. She finally took pity on me and helped me to the outhouse. I knew she was a nurse, but she was also the girl I wanted most to impress and I had a hard time reconciling the two.

I slept for awhile after dinner and then when it seemed like the end of the day, Sophie-Anne brought Sookie a nightgown and left us our privacy. I wondered what she must think of us, but then didn't care and was only grateful that it seemed I would get to spend a whole night with Sookie at my side. Sookie shut the lamp and moved to the end of the bed. I probably should have looked away, but I didn't. I could barely see but there was a bit of moonlight coming through the curtained window as she removed her clothes and put the nightgown on. I could just make out the soft curves of her body and as she removed the bra, I could see her nipples, just a shade darker than her skin. I felt a familiar stir in my groin in spite of my body being taxed by my injury.

She hung her clothes up on the same hook as my robe and as she came to the side of the bed, I held the covers up, inviting her to join me. She resumed her position from our nap up against my side, resting her head on my shoulder. I held onto her with my arm. Only this time there were no heavy covers between us. There was only the thin soft cotton of her nightgown. I felt her soft contours against my body and I hardened further. She tentatively reached her hand to rest across my stomach, and her arm brushed the tip of my erection. I let a small gasp escape my lips and she whispered a tiny, "I'm sorry."

I squeezed her tighter and kissed the top of her head and said, "It's okay."

Sookie

Apparently, I was to sleep with my patient. A part of me was reluctant because I knew it was inappropriate, but another part wanted nothing more than to spend the night in Eric's arms (or at least his one good arm). It was as if all the rules were suspended while we were here in this odd situation. Or maybe I was simply looking for an excuse to suspend the rules and follow my heart. I put out the light and changed into my gown. As I approached the bed, Eric held the covers open for me and I saw that he was erect and my heart started to race. I felt the warmth spread to my lower regions as I snuggled up to Eric's body and as I reached across his stomach searching for a comfortable place to rest my arm, I felt his hardness with my arm and heard him take in a sharp breath. I apologized, but really wanted nothing more than to touch him with the hand that was now resting by his side. I felt him kiss the top of my head and I snuggled further into his shoulder, breathing in that familiar and comforting scent.

I was listening to his heart beating as well as my own when he suddenly whispered, "Sophie-Anne told me that you love me." I didn't know what to say, and so I said nothing. "She said that's what you told her in the barn." He waited and still I held still. "Do you love me, Sookie?"

"Yes."

"What about Bill?"

"Bill?" I almost laughed. "I'm not with Bill. I'm not with anyone."

I started to explain that I was single, of course, and that I was a nurse now and as I raised my head to speak to him face to face, his lips were on mine. I brought my hand up to caress his face and kissed him back. It had the same intensity as the kiss I remembered in the dark classroom, only now we were alone in a bed seemingly far away from the real world. I parted my lips and our tongues met. We kissed like that for a long time, sometimes slowly and tenderly, and then the passion would build and he would take my breath away with the intensity. I scooted up a little further so he could rest his head back onto the pillow. I instinctively raised my knee over his legs and felt his erection against my thigh. Sometimes when I brushed his tongue with my own, I felt him move against my leg and it would trigger an aching sensation between my legs that I had never felt before. Eric's right arm was holding me tightly against him and I felt his left hand move to touch my breast, but then he stopped and grunted with pain and held his breath as he returned the hand to his side. I pulled the covers back and examined his bandage. It didn't seem to be bleeding through, but I told him that he shouldn't move his arm. "But I want to touch you." I wanted nothing more than to be touched by Eric and so I sat up and straddled him, feeling him between my legs. My eyes had adjusted to the dark and so I watched his eyes as he raised his right hand up and cupped my breast through the thin cotton fabric. He watched his own hand as it traced the lines of my breast and then found my nipple and gently pinched. My breathing audibly hitched, eliciting a smile from Eric. "My god, you're beautiful."

I had never felt more beautiful than I did at that moment. I looked down at his face, his smooth muscular chest and said, "So are you."

"I don't want you to feel pressured to do anything you don't feel comfortable with, Sookie." His hand continued to gently caress my breast.

"Are you married, Eric?"

"No."

"Neither am I." I saw him smile a small smile. "We both nearly died today. I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. But I do know that I have loved you since the first night I met you. I think about you all the time. I've had boyfriends since then, including Bill, but I've never felt for them what I feel for you. I'm not sure what I've been saving myself for if it's not for you. And the fact that your face was the one I saw this morning beside that creek is some sort of miracle. I don't know why this is happening to us, but it is. I want you, Eric. I love you."

As I leaned forward, carefully avoiding his shoulder, I heard him whisper a soft, "Oh my god," as our lips met. I pressed down on him with my hips and his hand dropped from my breast to my behind and pressed me closer to him still as his hips rose up to meet mine a little. The contact made us both moan softly into each other's mouths as our tongues swirled around each other. I'm not sure when it started, but soon I realized that I was pressing into Eric in a slow steady rhythm and our moans began to match it. I had never felt anything so incredibly good and yet I still wanted more. I wanted nothing between us and so I broke the kiss and carefully got off of Eric. I stood beside the bed and raised my gown up over my head. I laid it across the foot of the bed and then stood and pushed my underpants down and stepped out of them, setting them on top of the gown. I knelt back onto the bed but before I could make my way back to my previous position, Eric's hand moved between my legs and his fingers found me. I gasped at the sensation and sat back with my legs tucked under me, my knees slightly apart so that he could continue. I closed my eyes and my head fell back a little. I reached my right hand out and found his erection and wrapped my fingers around it. I began to move my hand on him matching the rhythm that his fingers were moving in inside of me. His thumb began to touch me as well and it made my breathing speed up a little more. I felt a building up of sensations. My face felt hot. I could hear my own heartbeat and my breathing became erratic. My left hand held Eric's upper arm and I felt it trembling on his hot skin. I was moving my body closer and closer to Eric's fingers until suddenly I grabbed his hand with both of mine and pressed it to me as I felt overwhelmed with pleasure. I felt my muscles contracting in an odd rhythm around Eric's fingers and it all felt so good, like I had absolutely no control over my own body. It had suddenly taken over and had a mind of it's own and it felt amazing.

I held Eric's hand still as the contractions slowed down and my head fell forward against my chest. My breathing slowed down as did my heartbeat and as I started to feel back in control again, I opened my eyes and caught the intensity of his icy blue stare and said, "I want more."

We both laughed a little at my brazen comment, but I absolutely meant it. Eric removed his fingers and I straddled his body again. I wrapped my hand around him and wondered how in the world it was going to fit. "We don't have to go any further, Sookie."

"I know, but I want to."

I raised up a little and placed his tip at my entrance. I started to lower myself just a little when he whispered, "I do love you, and I will marry you." He raised his hips to meet me a touch and he went inside just a little more. We both moaned and moved again and then again until he met with some resistance. "This will hurt just a little, sweetie." I held my breath and grit my teeth and sat down just a little harder. It did hurt and I grunted a little, but then almost immediately the pain was forgotten and replaced by overwhelming pleasure. We continued slowly. I inched my way down with each stroke and eventually, he was all the way in. I leaned forward carefully and found his mouth and we kissed hard as he moved inside of me. I tried to focus on one sensation at a time, but it was all so overwhelming. Our rhythm and our breathing began to increase in speed and I felt that same building sensation. This time I knew what was coming and relaxed my body. I broke the kiss and buried my face into Eric's neck on his good side as he said, "Come for me, Sookie."

I mumbled into his neck, "Yes, yes, yes." And then the fourth yes just came out as a wordless moan as I went over the edge of pleasure again. I felt Eric tense beneath me and his breathing had an odd rhythm to it as he grunted a few times and there was the sensation of his own contractions as well as mine inside of me.

I lay limply on top of Eric just breathing for a long time. His hand gently stroked my back as I focused on the slowing down of the contractions inside of me. I wasn't sure which were mine and which were his. I wanted to stay just like that for the rest of my life, but then I started to feel a cramp in my hip and tried to adjust my position a little. It still hurt and so I reluctantly raised my hips up until Eric was free of my grasp. I scooted back to my earlier position, lying beside him, snuggled into his shoulder. "How's your shoulder?"

"It hurts."

"I'm sorry."

"That's okay. The rest of me is very happy."

"Me too." And I felt myself drifting off into a very satisfied and luxurious sleep beside the man of my dreams.


	7. Chapter 7

Eric

I told Sookie what Sophie-Anne had told me and just asked her point blank if she loved me. She said yes, and I my heart just soared. All this time, I'd thought of her and assumed that she loved someone else, and yet it seemed now that she felt the same way I did. Suddenly I felt like an idiot for ever walking away from her in school. Sure, we were young, but what was I thinking? I had no idea then that feelings like this don't just happen every day. I felt like we had wasted so much time apart and that it was such a bizarre act of fate that had brought us back together to save each other's lives. It all had to mean something. What it meant to me was that I would never let her go again.

I wanted so badly to make love to her, but my shoulder hindered me from moving the way I wanted. And I didn't want Sookie to feel pressured to go any further than she was comfortable with. As much as I wanted her, I was perfectly content with anything we did even if it was only holding each other. To my utter amazement, Sookie took the initiative herself and climbed on top of me. I assumed that she was a virgin and thought her to be the kind of girl to save herself for marriage. But I also knew that I would marry her if she would have me.

In spite of my injury and distracting pain, we managed to enjoy the feel of each other as we explored each other's bodies. Sookie stood to remove her clothes herself—again taking a pleasure that I would have enjoyed had I not been injured. Her body was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen, and in spite of my limitations, I was able to bring her to climax with my hand. Afterwards, she wanted more, which I must admit I loved to see. I was relatively helpless on my back as I watched in awe while this incredible woman took her own virginity as she impaled herself on me. I didn't last very long, but I did manage to give her a second orgasm just as I reached my own. It felt incredible in spite of the painful heartbeat I felt in my left shoulder. Sookie snuggled back into my side where she fit perfectly and we drifted off to sleep together in perfect shared bliss. I knew that I had finally found again the woman that I would marry.

Sookie

I woke to a nagging pain between my legs and then remembered why that was so, and I smiled into Eric's warm shoulder. I raised my head and looked into his stunningly blue eyes. I gave him a soft kiss on his beautiful warm lips. "Good morning. How's your shoulder?"

"It hurts."

"Let's get the bandage changed. I'd like to have a look at it. How did you sleep?"

"Great." He returned my kiss before I sat up, careful not to disturb his shoulder. "Thank you for last night, Sookie. It was amazing."

"Yes, it was. I should probably blush and feign being coy now, but I'm not sorry one bit. It was beautiful. Better than I had imagined. I do love you, Eric."

"And I love you. I have to get better fast. We have plans to make."

"Yes, we do. Now let's take a look here." I removed the bandage and viewed the wound. It looked pretty good—no sign of infection, but I knew the pain must be intense. I threw on my nightgown and put water on to boil so I could clean around the wound a little more and get a better look. Eric filled the bottle for me and I used his robe to make my way to the outhouse myself. Once Eric's wound was clean and freshly bandaged, I took a sponge bath myself and put my clean uniform back on. Sophie-Anne made us some coffee and we all had some bread with honey before getting Eric up out of bed. He was able to stand long enough to brush his teeth and shave. I offered to bathe him, but he preferred doing it himself. I waited outside the door, giving him privacy but standing by if he needed me. He emerged in his robe and was able to walk to and from the outhouse himself. I was pleased at his progress.

Around mid-morning, Eric fell back to sleep. I helped Sophie-Anne clean up in the kitchen. I asked her to write her name and address on a piece of paper for me. I had every intention of sending her a thank you gift. I know my southern manners although I couldn't imagine a gift good enough to express how grateful I was for her kindness. When the kitchen was clean, she indicated that she was going out for something. I was exhausted still from the night before and so removed my boots and carefully lay down beside a sleeping Eric.

I woke to the sound of voices and then the squeak of jeep brakes. I jumped up and laced my boots on and ran to the door just as Sophie-Anne entered with a handful of American soldiers. I was so relieved that we had been discovered by Americans and that now Eric could receive proper hospital care, but then I also realized that we would be separated. I ran back into his room. He was awake and I took his hand and squeezed it as the room was filled with men asking questions.

We never had a moment alone to say a proper good-bye. As I was taken out of the room, I turned and looked back as he said, "I'll see you soon." I nodded as I felt my eyes fill with tears, knowing that I would most likely not see him very soon at all. The medic was examining his wound as I left to get into a waiting jeep. Sophie-Anne hugged me to her tightly and cried a tear right along with me. I watched the farmhouse disappear as we rounded the bend away from the place where I had given my heart away.

Eric

I was feeling stronger and could not have been happier the morning I woke with Sookie. I was able to bathe and shave myself and use the bathroom alone. As grateful as I was that Sookie had taken such excellent care of me, I wanted her to see me as a man, rather than as a patient. I made it clear to her that I loved her and planned to marry her. I desperately hoped that she wasn't regretting the previous night. I had never felt more hopeful about my future and had never been clearer about what I wanted.

I was sleeping when I sensed Sookie getting off the bed. Almost immediately the room was filled with American voices. A medic was checking my shoulder as I helplessly watched Sookie leave. I tried to sound optimistic and strong when I told her I'd see her soon. My heart broke when I saw the tears in her eyes and I suppressed the lump in my own throat.

It wasn't until days later when I was in the hospital that I realized that I didn't even know what unit Sookie was in. We'd had so little time to talk about details like that. I explained my situation to a Red Cross volunteer and within a day, I had Sookie's APO address. I wrote her a letter and didn't hold back. I wanted to reassure her that my feelings had not changed.

Sookie

I was back at work on the train within a day. I made my report about being abducted and then rescued. I was assured that Eric would receive commendation for his selfless bravery in saving my life at great risk to his own. I received a good tongue lashing at the stupidity of leaving the train in an unsecured area (and I deserved it).

My schedule quickly returned to normal, or I suppose I should say normal under the circumstances. There was a constant stream of wounded men, and I saw Eric in the eyes of all of them. In a way, I hoped that being with Eric had made me a better nurse. After treating countless anonymous soldiers, it was easy to view them as nameless bodies. Staying emotionally detached was a common form of self preservation. But after treating Eric and becoming so incredibly attached to him, I saw the humanity in the faces of the other men I treated. Every one of them was someone's sweetheart or at least hopefully someone's future sweetheart. I wondered where Eric was and who was caring for him and hoped that he was healing quickly.

I told Tara that I had known Eric from school, but I didn't tell her that I was in love with him or that I had made love to him. That all seemed too private even for her and she was my best friend. The whole episode at the LeClerq farm seemed like a world away now that I was back to my regular life. I thought about it all the time of course. I replayed every moment of being with Eric over and over in my mind, and occasionally I would be reminded of a tiny tidbit that I had previously overlooked and it would feel like I had found a priceless treasure inside my own mind, and then I'd play that part over and over. I wondered what Eric must think of me and hoped he knew how much I loved him and wanted to marry him. He obviously realized that I had been a virgin, and so at least he knew that I wasn't the type of girl to normally sleep with my patients, or any other men for that matter. I hoped I had made it clear enough to him just how special he was to me, and not just because he had saved my life. And I so wished that we'd had more time together or at least a proper and private good bye. I saw men die around me every day and knew that it was a real possibility that my last good bye with Eric may have also been the last time we would ever see each other.

Within a few weeks of being back at work, I got a letter from Eric. My heart soared when I saw who it was from of course and I realized that I didn't even know his handwriting. There was so much that I didn't know about Eric Northman, but I hoped to learn it all. My hands trembled as I carefully opened the envelope and read.

My Darling Sookie,

I hope this finds you safely back with your unit. I am fine. The doctor here has complimented you on your sewing and says that my scar should be minimal. I should be flying again within a few weeks. I owe my quick recovery as well as my life itself to you and will never forget it.

Finding you again has given new meaning to my life and a reason to get through this war unscathed, or at least no further scathed that I already am. I'm sorry for all the time I wasted that we could have been together. I should have asked you to marry me the night we met because that was the night that you stole my heart. It has taken me all this time, both of us nearly losing our lives, and finally a chance encounter a world away for me to finally realize what a fool I've been. Please forgive me and allow me to make up for my mistake by devoting the remainder of my days on this earth to your happiness.

I don't want to wait for us to get married. Rumor has it that the Army will soon allow it's female personnel to marry and continue their service. If you want to stay in the Army and work, that would be fine. With your being in Europe, it would most likely be easier for us to see each other until the war is over. But if you'd prefer to leave the service and go back to the states that would be fine as well. You could live with my sister, Pam, in Shreveport if you'd like until I can get home. I just want you to be happy.

Please let me know as soon as you can arrange some time—even if it's only a day, and I will meet you so we can get married right away. I miss you so much and think of you constantly. I can't wait to see you again so we can start our lives together. I'll wait impatiently for your reply.

All my love,

Eric

Tears were streaming down my face as I gingerly re-folded the letter and slid it back into it's envelope. I noted the date on the letter and realized that it had taken almost three weeks for it to be delivered. He would have most likely already been discharged from the hospital by now, but I knew that the hospital would be able to forward his mail to wherever he was sent next. I found paper and wrote my reply right away, knowing that I had little time to waste.

Eric, my love,

I received your beautiful letter. I'm so happy to hear that you're recovering quickly. I am fine and back to work, only now I am careful not to stray from the train, nor do I let Tara any more. We can just live without fresh eggs for awhile.

I think my C.O. feels a little guilty about my capture and subsequent imprisonment and I feel confident that he will give me time whenever I want if you can just come to Cherbourg. My routine is most likely more easily interrupted at the last minute than yours, so just come as soon as you can and yes, yes, yes, I will marry you! We can work out the details of where I'll live and what I'll do when you get here. We have so much to talk about and look forward to.

I miss you and think of you every day and long to hold you in my arms again. Come as soon as you can.

Your future wife,

Sookie

I mailed the letter and hoped that it would find Eric soon and that he would come to me. I couldn't wait to marry him. I knew that I would not be able to stay in the Army, but Eric didn't know that yet. I would explain it all to him as soon as I could, but that sort of news should be discussed in person. I wasn't sure how much longer I could wait for Eric, but I was determined to try and hold out as long as possible. Our future together depended on it.


	8. Chapter 8

Eric

My shoulder healed with a small scar. I still had a little stiffness when I reported back to duty, but was able to fly without any problems. I was back in time for Operation Market Garden in mid September. It was an Allied assault on Holland, carefully planned and intended to end the war, but it turned into a disaster. I was lucky in that all of my flights were incident-free and that I was able to supply the ground troops with support in spite of the general failure of the operation.

I waited and hoped for a letter from Sookie, but knew that many Americans were having trouble getting their mail in a timely manner. I knew in my heart that she loved me and would wait for me and I decided that I would just go to her the first chance I got even if I hadn't heard from her. Although we had only spent one night together, I was confident that she loved me as much as I loved her.

At the end of October I finally received a letter from Sookie. It was dated the first week of September. I kept it with me all the time, but I had it memorized within the first day of course.

As the Allied forces moved further east, my hopes of making it back to Cherbourg any time soon faded. However, the war was definitely going well. I had participated in the taking of Aachen which was the first German city to be captured. Rumors were flying that the war would be over by Christmas and I had visions of a French wedding before the end of the year. I wrote to Sookie and while I couldn't speak of the progress of the war (and she certainly knew this), I did tell her that I loved her and would marry her as soon as possible. I hoped it would be before the end of the year. Not a day went by that I didn't think of her and I made sure she knew that in my letter.

Sookie

I waited and hoped for Eric to come. I never told a soul that we were planning to get married because I didn't want him to have the burden of blame if things didn't go as I had hoped. As each week passed without word from him, I grew more and more afraid that we would not be able to get married in time.

I knew almost right away that I was pregnant. I could feel it somehow. My body just felt different. Soon the morning sickness started and then the fatigue. I didn't need to bother counting missed periods because I knew exactly the night I had conceived. There could be no other possibility. A part of me was thrilled because I was having the child of the man I loved. I felt confident that he would be happy about the news. But my hopes that we would be married in Cherbourg were fading. I knew the policy—women were immediately discharged from the Army when they became pregnant. I wondered how much longer I could hide it and wait for Eric to marry me. If he didn't come in time, I would become an unwed mother alone in a small town in Louisiana and dreaded what that would mean for my child.

By the beginning of December I was having trouble buttoning my fatigues. I knew I didn't have much longer and so the day I finally got a letter from Eric, I cried from the relief. My relief soon faded to dread however as I read the letter. He still loved me (at least he had when the letter was written at the end of October), but he didn't think he could come to Cherbourg before Christmas. I certainly couldn't go to him even if I knew where that was. I gave myself permission to cry and feel sorry for myself for about an hour and then I braced myself for the tough road ahead.

I told my C.O. first and he had the good grace to not ask me who the father was. I really had no idea what I would tell people, but I didn't want anyone to know about Eric for his own sake. I knew that I would feel enough shame as an unmarried mother and I didn't want to burden him with the label of a man who hadn't married the women he'd impregnated. When I told Tara that I was being discharged and why her eyes grew wide and she hugged me. "This happened when you were captured by those Germans." It was more of a statement than a question. I didn't answer her, but then I knew that I could use that story if I needed to. Maybe my child would be shunned less and pitied and accepted more if he or she were the child of a rape by the enemy. It was something that I would have to think about.

Within a week I was on a ship headed back to America, my Army career and contribution to the war effort cut short by a choice I'd made on a night in a country farmhouse with a man whose whereabouts were a mystery to me. This isn't how I had planned for my life to go at all. A part of me was sorry that I wouldn't be able to continue my service, but I couldn't bring myself to be sorry that I would have Eric's child. Before my departure, I wrote him a letter.

Dear Eric,

I only got your letter today. I am broken-hearted that I can't wait for you any longer, although I understand why you haven't been able to come to me. I was hoping to tell you this in person, but I am leaving for the states in a few days. The night we saved each other we also conceived a child. I've known it for awhile now and hope that you are happy about the news, but this isn't how I had planned on telling you of course.

Naturally, the Army has discharged me. I am enclosing my address in Bon Temps where I will be living with my grandmother. I hope you will write as soon as you get this and that your feelings have not changed. Mine certainly have not.

I love you and pray every night for your safe return to me. I'm sad that we can't be married in France as we had hoped, but will wait for you at home in Louisiana.

Always yours,

Sookie

Gran was happy to have me home safe and sound. Jason was somewhere in the Pacific—we weren't exactly sure where. I told her that I was pregnant of course, and that I was keeping the baby but didn't mention a father. She looked at me expectantly and I just said, "You know I was captured by the Germans in August."

She just lowered her eyes and changed the subject. That seemed to work just fine and so I decided that that would become my pat answer if anyone asked, but no one ever did. I got a job at the local hospital. There was a shortage of nurses and my training was impressive for such a small town hospital. My ballooning figure was simply ignored, at least to my face. I could only imagine what must have been said behind my back. The hospital administrator, Mr. Cataliades, did call me into his office one day and he asked me to sit down. "It's none of my business, Sookie, but just to make the patients a little more comfortable, would you mind terribly wearing a wedding band? Just so there aren't any awkward questions, you understand." Gran took a simple white gold wedding band out of her jewelry box that night and gave it to me. She told me that my grandfather had given it to her in the 20's when white gold became so popular, but that she still preferred to wear the gold band that he'd given her on their wedding day and so kept the newer ring in her jewelry box. I thanked her and then no more words were spoken on the subject.

The only person brave enough to ask me about the wedding ring was my friend Sam Merlotte. He owned a local restaurant and bar and had been a close friend since high school. I'd actually dated him once when we were kids, but we were much better at being friends. I just explained to him that it made the patients more comfortable and he seemed fine with that answer. Sam knew the story of my capture and rescue, or at least the version that I told people. I never mentioned anything about rape, of course, but I did tell him about how a pilot from Shreveport that I'd known in college rescued me and that I owed him my life. I left out the part about being in love with him and carrying his child, but I wanted Eric to get the credit for saving me. My C.O. had told me before I left France that Eric had received a Silver Star for the rescue. He certainly deserved it as far as I was concerned.

I made a new friend at the hospital named Amelia Broadway. She was from a wealthy family in New Orleans and had moved to Bon Temps to be closer to her boyfriend, Tray Dawson. Tray was in Europe, and so Amelia stayed with his folks and volunteered at the hospital. She said it made her feel closer to him to be with his family rather than her own.

I debated many times whether or not I should try to find Eric's sister, Pam, in Shreveport. A part of me wanted to meet her and tell her about her pending niece or nephew, but then I was so torn about telling anyone the truth. I had not heard anything from Eric. Had he gotten my letter and chosen to walk away from me? Was he even still alive? I knew absolutely nothing. Part of me was afraid to contact Pam Northman because she may indeed have the bad news that I feared—that Eric had been killed. And I just didn't know if I could survive that news. I needed to try and keep my spirits up for the sake of my child who would be here in the spring whether he or she had a father or not.


	9. Chapter 9

Eric

Like many others, I realized that the war would not be over by Christmas after all. The Germans launched an unexpected and massive campaign that became known as the Battle of the Bulge. It was mid-December of 1944, and I was providing air support for the ground troops who were being badly beaten by the Germans. The weather was not cooperating, making it impossible to fly on many days when we were desperately needed for support. There was finally a relatively clear day on the 23rd and so I flew, and that was the day I was shot down and my life changed dramatically.

I was dangerously low to parachute out, but that's what I did, having no other choice. I knew that my leg was broken when I hit the hard-packed snow. I was able to crawl to a small shed that was an outbuilding of a farm, and inside I found a wooden handle for some sort of farm implement that I was able to use as a crutch. That simple piece of wood ended up saving my life because without it I was unable to walk at all. I was captured within hours and with the help of my primitive crutch as well as several kind Americans who were in better shape than I was, I marched for two painful days to the train in Bastogne where we were boarded and transported to Stalag VII-A just north of Moosburg in Southern Bavaria.

The only reason I survived my imprisonment was because of the kindness and generosity of a handful of Americans who were captured with me. I was clearly in bad shape with my leg and would have been unable to even make the journey without their assistance, much less survive the four months that I was held there. Within the first week in the prison camp, a prisoner died and left a much more efficient crutch that was bequeathed to me. I was grateful to be the recipient because my makeshift crutch had worn a bloody hole in my armpit that gave me almost as much pain as the leg itself. The camp held thousands of prisoners and I became simply one in a sea of men who were all bent on survival. As badly as my body was broken, my spirit was kept alive by thinking of Sookie.

I had not heard from her other than the one letter I had received and still held within my jacket pocket. But I knew in my heart (and would not have been able to bear knowing otherwise) that she still loved me and waited for me. Every day I would go over in my mind the few encounters I'd had with her. I would start with the night we met and always end with her hurried good-bye as she left the LeClerq farm. If I was having a really bad day, I would allow myself to imagine a wedding in France and of course a wedding night as well. Those thoughts as much as or more than anything else kept me from losing hope.

Sookie

Pamela Northman Stackhouse was born on April 29, 1945, two weeks early. She was perfect and healthy and beautiful. I told people that I just liked the name Pamela and that I named her Northman for the pilot who'd saved my life. No one questioned it and a few old bitties even teared up when I told them after church one day.

I took almost a month off from work and stayed home with Pamela, but I couldn't afford to be without a paycheck for much longer than that. After I went back to work, Gran took care of the baby during the day. I missed Pamela so much and would ride the bus home every day at lunch to feed her. By the end of the day, my breasts were painfully swollen again and I couldn't wait to get home. It wasn't perfect, but we were adjusting to our new schedule with our new girl until the night I came home and found Gran on the kitchen floor.

That whole week is still a blur to me. Amelia and Sam and Dr. Quinn were there helping me with the funeral arrangements and the house was filled with people for several days. Everyone in town loved Adele Stackhouse, but I was the only one who wondered how I'd live without her. Oh, and Pamela too, I guess. Now it was just the two of us. I wrote to Jason, but had no idea where he was. We hadn't heard from him since I'd come home from Europe.

Bless her heart, Amelia Broadway moved in with me after Gran died. She said she didn't need money (she was a volunteer at the hospital) and she knew that I did. She took care of Pamela while I worked and I promised her that I would figure something else out but for the life of me I couldn't think of what it would be. I was just so grateful to her for her friendship and support.

When Pamela was about two months old, Dr. Quinn asked me out on a date. John Quinn was a surgeon at the hospital who had been a good friend to me since I'd worked there, but it had never occurred to me that he could be anything more. My heart was still wrapped up in the memory of Eric even though I had heard nothing from him at all. Quinn (as he preferred to be called) was handsome and tall with a bald head that was actually very virile in a way. He had pansy colored eyes and a broad smile and there was no reason in the world why a woman like me shouldn't be thrilled with his overtures, only I wasn't. I thanked him for the offer but told him that I was just not interested in dating. He said that he would keep the offer open if I changed my mind. Sam told me later than Quinn made it clear in town that he was interested in me just in case I had any other suitors. I couldn't imagine why on earth any man would want a woman who'd had a child out of wedlock. I suppose I should have been flattered and jumped on Quinn's offer, but I just couldn't do it. I was still in love with Eric whether he was alive or not.

Eric

April 29, 1945, was the day that Stalag VII-A was liberated. It was an emotional day for me and thousands of other men that I won't soon forget. Of course I had no way of knowing it at the time, but mine was the largest prisoner of war camp in Germany. There were 130,000 Allied POWs, and of those, 30,000 were Americans. Within a week, I was transported by train to the hospital in Cherbourg. This was the place that I had been trying to get to for nearly nine months, but for different reasons, obviously. I was overwhelmed with the joy of surviving the camp where I thought that I would surely die and now faced the real possibility of seeing (and dare I still hope marrying?) Sookie Stackhouse.

I immediately began to ask for her, but no one knew of her and I assumed that she had been transferred. I couldn't face the possibility that she had been killed, even though I knew that some nurses had been killed in the war and I knew, of course, how easily she could have been killed when she was captured, so it was a real possibility.

My leg was re-broken in surgery and I began the slow and painful process of healing and gaining the eventual use of my left leg. My body was weakened further because of the extreme weight loss in the prison camp. And the wound in my left armpit was slow to heal as well.

A Red Cross volunteer was finally able to find out for me that Sookie had been discharged from the Army in December. I wondered whether or not she had been wounded, but could not gather any more information. I finally thought to ask for a nurse named Tara, although I had no last name. I remembered that she had been Sookie's close friend on the train.

Finally, one day, a pretty brunette woman entered my room and introduced herself as Tara Thornton. She said she heard that I was looking for her and she knew my name as the man who saved Sookie from her German captors. I asked whether or not Sookie had been wounded.

"No. She's fine. She went home in December."

"Yes, I heard that. Have you heard from her? Is she well?"

"Yes, she is. I have her address if you'd like to have it. I know how grateful she was to you because you saved her life. I'm sure she'd be happy to hear that you're doing well."

"I don't know how much she told you, but I'm in love with her."

"Oh, I didn't know that." Her manner was suddenly oddly cold. "I'll bring you her address tomorrow."

"Thank you. I'd be grateful."

The following day, Tara brought me Sookie's address. She held my hand and looked at me with such pity in her eyes that I wondered what she wasn't telling me. I asked again if Sookie was okay.

"Yes. Look, it's none of my business, but things over here get messed up. I know you say that you love her, and I know that she was always grateful that you saved her life, but I just don't want you to get your hopes up or anything. Things change. This war has changed a lot of lives. I hope you find what you want, but I also hope that you aren't disappointed. You seem like a nice man." She patted my hand and wished me luck before she left the room. I had a dreadful foreboding feeling, like she wasn't telling me something and it worried me no end.


	10. Chapter 10

Eric

By the end of July, I had been discharged from the hospital as well as the Air Corps and was on my way home. I still had a severe limp and walked with a cane, and probably would for a long time. My flying days were behind me, naturally. I was disappointed that I wouldn't be able to fly, but I was grateful to be alive.

Tara Thornton's warning gave me pause, and I made the decision to go and see Sookie rather than write to her. I could tell that there was something that Tara wasn't telling me and I wanted to hear it from Sookie in person, not in a letter. Having the hope that Sookie loved me and was waiting for me had been pivotal to my survival, and I just didn't know if I could take the death of that hope.

The day after I got home I made the trip down to Bon Temps. I got off the train and went into a restaurant called Merlotte's. I figured I could ask some of the locals how to get to Sookie's house. I sat at the bar and struck up a conversation with a woman named Maxine Fortenberry. I knew a dozen women just like her in Shreveport and knew that she would be full of information. The owner of the place, Sam, poured me a cup of coffee while I picked Maxine's brain. Yes, she knew Sookie, and told me that she worked as a surgical nurse at the hospital. Maxine was an old friend of Sookie's grandmother's and I learned of Adele Stackhouse's recent death. I finished my coffee, anxious to see Sookie. I left and made my way to the bus stop to go to the hospital. Waiting for the bus, I picked a handful of wildflowers and wanted to kick myself that I hadn't thought of it sooner. I should have brought some sort of gift. A pretty little girl at the bus stop with her mother gave me a gold ribbon from her hair to wrap around my flowers and the gesture almost brought a tear to my eye it was so sweet. She couldn't have been more than five years old. I thanked her and told her that the lady I was bringing them to would just love her ribbon.

I found my way to the surgical wing of the hospital and saw Sookie standing at the nurse's desk. She took my breath away, and suddenly I was afraid to approach her. My whole body was trembling. There were people coming and going and so I figured I could sit unnoticed in a chair by the stairwell to compose myself.

A tall bald man dressed as a doctor approached Sookie and spoke to her while touching her elbow. She laughed and as she raised her hand to brush a wisp of hair from her face I saw the ring. Suddenly Tara Thornton's warning made perfect sense. Sookie was married.

A part of me wanted nothing more than to sit and watch Sookie. She was more beautiful that I had remembered, and that's certainly saying something. But another part of me was so brokenhearted that she was someone else's wife. I wondered how I would stand and walk out of this place without crying like a baby. I had pinned all my hopes on this woman becoming my wife, and now what did I have to live for? Selfishly, I was destroyed, but then a part of me was also glad that she was alive and safe and cared for and hoped that she was happy. I decided that this wasn't the place to have my little breakdown and so I walked away, leaving the flowers sitting in my chair. I wished I could take the ribbon back to that little girl because she'd sacrificed it for nothing.

I took the bus back to the train station, but was still feeling a little shaky and decided that I should have something to eat before making my trip home. I returned to Merlotte's and found my seat again at the bar.

Maxine Fortenberry was still there and greeted me like an old friend. I ordered a hamburger and started to eat when she asked me if I had seen Sookie. "Yes, I did see her." It wasn't a lie.

"She's such a sweet girl. And so lucky that that handsome Dr. Quinn is so crazy about her." Sam shot her a dirty look.

"Yes. I think I saw him as well."

"Tall fellow? Bald?"

"Yes, that's the one."

"He just thinks she hung the moon."

"So do I."

She eyed my cane. "Are you one of the soldiers she treated in the war? Were you a patient of hers? Is that why you came to see her?"

"Yes, I was one of her patients." The one she gave her virginity to, I thought cynically.

"That's so sweet. What's your name, son?"

"Eric Northman." Suddenly, conversation stopped, heads turned, all eyes were on me. Sam reached his hand out to shake mine.

"You're the one who saved her life."

"Yes, I did. But she saved mine as well."

"You got the Silver Star."

"Yes, I did."

"It's a real honor to meet you. You're a real hero around here."

"Thank you."

"You know she even named her baby after you." My heart stopped.

"She has a baby?" I thought, wow, she sure didn't waste any time. I felt bitter at the thought of her finding a husband fast enough to have already had a baby with him. Maybe she had never loved me at all.

Maxine clucked her tongue. "That's why it's so sweet that that nice Dr. Quinn likes her so much. It's not many men that would date an unwed mother." I must have looked shocked when I turned to her. She lowered her voice to a whisper. "She was raped by those Germans you know. It's lucky you saved her life, but it'll never be the same now." I felt the walls closing in on me. I tried to count the months. My brain wouldn't work and I was starting to feel dizzy. "Are you okay, Mr. Northman?"

"What did she name her baby?"

"Pamela." My sister's name. "Pamela Northman Stackhouse."

"Stackhouse."

"Well, yeah, of course. She's the sweetest little thing. So pretty and hardly ever cries in church…" I stopped hearing Maxine Fortenberry as my mind wrapped around what I had just learned. I took my wallet out to pay for my meal, but Sam insisted that it was on the house for the man who saved Sookie's life. I asked Sam for directions to Hummingbird Lane, picked up my cane and left the bar.


	11. Chapter 11

Sookie

I was anxious to get home to feed Pamela after a long day. Amelia left as soon as I arrived to go and visit with the Dawsons. They had received a letter from Tray. I fixed myself a sandwich and some iced tea and ate at the kitchen table holding the baby. It was such a pretty warm night that I decided to sit out on the porch swing with her. I opened the front door and we settled on the swing and Pamela was almost asleep when I noticed a man with a cane walking up the drive. It was already dark and I didn't recognize him, but I figured I must know him. Why would a stranger be coming up my driveway? I stood to greet him as he approached the porch and climbed the steps into the light.

My hand flew to my mouth and then I reached my arm out to him as I was overcome with sobs. Happy tears streamed down my face as well as his as he embraced me, careful not to crush the baby, and his lips found mine as we both openly wept with joy.

Eric

As I climbed the steps to her porch, the vision of her standing there holding the baby—our daughter—overwhelmed me. I carefully folded the two of them in my arms, letting my cane fall loudly to the floor. I kissed her, but we both kept our eyes open, crying unashamedly. We stood there like that, just kissing and holding each other and we would both go from crying to laughing and then back to crying again until I pulled back enough to look at the baby. Sookie said, "This is Pamela." And I carefully touched her pink little face. I just looked back at Sookie and nodded, too overwhelmed with emotion to speak yet.

Sookie led me to her living room sofa where I sat, resting my cane beside it. She gingerly placed the baby in my arms and went to fix me some iced tea. I took a few sips and then Sookie set the glass down on the coffee table. I reached my arm out as she snuggled up to my body. With Pamela in the crook of my left arm and Sookie against my right side, my arm holding her close, I felt my body relax for the first time in a very long time. I kissed the top of Sookie's head and she held Pamela's tiny hand as the three of us just sat together in silence.

This is what I had survived the war for and I hadn't even known it. In all the scenarios I had envisioned, it had never occurred to me that we could have a child together. Apparently there was even more magic to that night at the farm than we'd ever imagined at the time. I felt such remorse at the thought of Sookie coming home and having the baby alone and in shame. She clearly had not told people about me other than as the man who rescued her from the Germans. The town gossips had assumed that Pamela's father was one of the faceless Germans who had captured Sookie (and Pamela's fair skin and blonde hair would confirm such a theory easily). But I knew that Sookie had not been raped by the Germans—not because she told me so but because I knew that she left their captivity still a virgin. I was there.

Sookie began to tell me about her work at the hospital and Pamela's birth and the unexpected death of her grandmother. She asked if I had gotten her letters, but I told her that I had only received the one (that was still in my pocket). I began to quote it as I had in my mind hundreds of times and Sookie's eyes filled with tears. "I sent another one in December telling you that I was expecting."

"I never got that one, my love. I'm so sorry." I told her about being shot down and my time in the prison camp and then later in the hospital in Cherbourg. I told her that Tara's vague warning had led me to fear that Sookie had married and then that I had seen her at the hospital with the wedding band on. I had come so close to just going back to Shreveport. Thank god I'd stopped back into Merlotte's. Sookie said she owed Maxine Fortenberry a pecan pie.

The baby fell asleep while Sookie and I sat and talked for hours, making plans about our future. She showed me letters from Sophie-Anne LeClerq and I asked if I could keep one of them. Sookie's friend, Amelia, came in the front door and stared at the three of us for a moment before Sookie stood and introduced me. "Amelia, this is Eric Northman, Pamela's father." Amelia's shocked expression turned into a pleased one as she extended her hand.

"Please don't get up. It's such a pleasure to meet you." I had a feeling that I would be getting a lot of these looks here in Bon Temps.

Sookie asked about her evening and the two of them went into the kitchen together for awhile. When they returned, Amelia said good night and walked upstairs. It was getting late and I suddenly felt awkward. I wanted to stay, of course, but didn't want to assume that Sookie and I would sleep together. This wasn't some remote French farmhouse sheltering us from the possibility of death just around the corner. This was the small southern town where Sookie lived and there was another Bon Temps resident just upstairs who for all I knew was the biggest gossip in town. I had already pretty much ruined Sookie's reputation from halfway around the world. I didn't want to do it further harm now I that I was here. I was trying to decide how to approach the subject just as Pamela saved me by starting to fuss a little. Sookie took her from me and disappeared into a bedroom to change her. I finished my iced tea and found the bathroom. As I emerged from the bathroom I heard Sookie quietly calling my name. I suddenly felt awkward going into her bedroom and so I answered her from the kitchen.

"Could I trouble you to bring me a glass of water?"

"Of course." I found a glass and filled it. As I entered her room, I wasn't prepared for the sight waiting for me. She was sitting in a chair by the bed nursing the baby with just the single breast exposed. Pamela's tiny little hand was gently resting on the ample swell above her and she was making small sweet sounds of satisfaction. I handed Sookie the glass and hoped I wasn't staring. "I'm sorry. Would you prefer that I wait in the other room?"

"Of course not. I mean, unless this is uncomfortable for you. It just feels so normal to me. I guess I wasn't thinking how it might feel for you. Does it bother you?" She gestured for me to sit on the bed.

"No. No, it's…I can't even think of a word to describe it. Amazing? Overwhelming? Beautiful? I've only known that I was a father for a few hours. And yet here you are, willing to share in such a private moment. I don't even know what to say. I'm grateful. I'm in awe."

She started to smirk. "We'll see how much in awe you still are after changing a few diapers, mister."

I just smiled at her in wonder. She finished feeding the baby and handed her to me with burping instructions while she went into the bathroom. She came back in her nightgown with her hair down and sat beside me on the bed. I stared at her gorgeous hair cascading down her back. "It's gotten so long." I wanted to touch it but didn't want to risk taking a hand off of the baby. I still had so much to learn.

"I'm sorry honey, but I'm pretty much always sleep-deprived these days and I need to work tomorrow."

"We need to talk about your working. We have so many decisions to make." And then we both grinned from ear to ear at the thought of making our decisions together from now on. Then she yawned, reminding me that she must be tired after a long day. "But we don't have to decide tonight, of course. So, where would you like me to sleep? I mean, unless I should go…"

"No, no, no. Don't be silly. Go? You think I'd let you go? After waiting all this time? You're not going anywhere, Eric Northman." Then her voice got smaller. "You can sleep in here with us if you'd like." She took Pamela from my arms and put her in her bassinet.

"I wouldn't want to presume. We're not married yet, and Amelia is just upstairs. To be honest, Sookie, I'm feeling more than a little guilty about where our last night together left you. I mean, of course I should have realized that your getting pregnant was a possibility, but I just wasn't thinking. That whole night seemed like a dream. But obviously, the result was and still is very real. I can't tell you how sorry I am that we weren't married in Cherbourg and that you had to have Pamela without me. I can't ever fix that. For either of you. But of course, I'm certainly going to try."

She sat beside me on the bed and squeezed my hand reassuringly. "You have nothing to apologize for, Eric. What happened that night was my decision. And I know you would have married me if you could have. Having Pamela was nobody's fault and I would never take any of it back if I could. What you don't know about me is that I'm pretty tough and can take care of myself. I would never let a little thing like town gossip bring me down."

"Well, you won't have to be tough any more, my love. And from now on, we'll take care of each other. But for tonight, I'll happily take the couch."

"Oh. You don't have to. I mean, you can have my old room across the hall. The bed's already made up. I mean if that's okay."

I gave her a soft kiss on the lips and then stood. "You'll wake me early?"

"Yes. We've got a big day tomorrow."

"I love you."

"I love you too, Eric. Good night." And then I found my room across the hall.


	12. Chapter 12

Sookie

Eric and I spent a heavenly few hours cuddled up on the sofa with the baby. Everything finally felt right after so much heartache—not knowing whether Eric was alive or dead, having to come home to have Pamela alone, losing Gran. I was so grateful to finally have him home with us. He had been through so much and was clearly still in pain with his leg injury and looked so very thin. But I knew that it could have been so much worse and that he was one of the lucky ones. The war was over for him now as well as for me. I was still so worried, of course, for all the other men fighting, including my brother. But now my focus for our little family of three would be here at home and for that I was relieved and very grateful.

I was fading fast and hoped that Eric would sleep with me. I knew that it was inappropriate of course, but didn't much care at that point. Honestly, I wasn't even thinking about sex. I just didn't want him out of my sight. But he expressed concern about that decision and so we agreed that he would sleep in my old room across the hall. I thought I'd have trouble sleeping with him in the next room, but I was asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow. I was exhausted, of course, from the normal lack of sleep a new mother experiences as well as working a full day. But for the first time since that night in France, I knew where Eric was and that he was safe and my mind was at rest as I drifted off to a happy sleep.

Pamela woke me a few hours later to eat of course. After I got her back to sleep, I tiptoed into Eric's room and watched him sleep for a minute. Maybe it was wrong, I don't know. I just wanted to be near to him and make sure he was okay. The second time Pamela woke me, I went ahead and got up even though it was still early. I was excited about the day ahead and wanted to get it started. Pamela went back to sleep, but I started to cook breakfast even though it was still dark.

Eric

I woke to the heavenly scent of coffee brewing and bacon cooking. It was still dark outside but I could hear a few birds starting their songs and I knew it would be light soon. I had slept like a baby for the first time in a very long time. My mind was finally at peace knowing that Sookie was safe and that she still loved me and now I also knew about our beautiful daughter. My future had never looked better than it did at that very moment.

I walked into the kitchen and stood for a moment to watch Sookie at the stove, her back to me. She looked so delicious that I just couldn't resist sneaking up behind her and putting my arms around her.

Sookie

I was frying some bacon, letting my mind drift to all I needed to get done today, smiling to myself when suddenly Eric was behind me, his arms wrapped around me and his lips kissing my neck. My smile grew wider as I set down the spatula and turned around. I started to say good morning but was cut off by a hard passionate kiss. Eric's tongue and strong embrace took my breath away and I responded with a passion of my own that was completely unexpected. One hand went to his hair, pulling his head closer to me while the other found the small of his back. His hands seemed to be everywhere, but then settled on my behind, pressing my hips to his firm erection. My hand lowered to his own perfect behind and I was reminded of the brazen overture that I'd made just like this in a dark classroom a long time ago. Back then he was just the handsomest boy I'd ever known. Now he was the father of my child and my future husband. I was lost in the kiss and the feelings of arousal that I hadn't even realized that I'd been missing when Eric abruptly broke the kiss and walked briskly back into the bedroom, closing the door quietly behind him. It was a perfect repeat of the darkened classroom kiss, complete with his unexplained departure. I stood in shock, panting heavily and reached behind me to hold on to the stove for support. Suddenly Amelia appeared and looked concerned. "Sookie, are you okay?"

I snapped out of it, realizing at least this time why Eric had ended our little make-out session. "Of course. Good morning. I was just up early and thought I'd make some breakfast. Are you hungry?"

"Um, yeah, but I think your bacon is burning. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes, I'm sure." I went into hostess mode and poured Amelia some coffee after turning my now slightly overdone bacon. I watched Amelia eye the closed bedroom door and then she looked back at me. I could tell she wanted to say something, but as if on cue, the bedroom door opened and Eric emerged, smiling happily.

"Good morning."

Amelia and I said good morning in unison. Eric kissed me sweetly on the cheek and excused himself to go into the bathroom.

Eric

Sookie had to be at work at 9. The courthouse opened at 8, and by 8:45 we had applied for our marriage license and obtained all the paperwork to change Pamela's name legally, simply switching her middle and last names. I'd speak to my lawyer later about making certain that she was my legal daughter after Sookie and I were married. I waited at the hospital for a few minutes until I was able to meet Mr. Cataliades and Dr. Quinn. I have to admit that I enjoyed the look of shock a little more than I should have when Sookie told Dr. Quinn that we were engaged.

I gave Sookie an intimate peck on the cheek and told her I'd see her at dinner, loving the feel of having to coordinate my day with her. I mentally skipped to the bus stop even though my leg prevented my body from following suit.

I took the train to Shreveport, packed a bag, filled Pam in about all the good news, and was back at Sookie's house a little before dark. Unfortunately, I had missed dinner, but Sookie warmed some leftovers up for me. Amelia congratulated us on our engagement before retiring to her room upstairs, graciously leaving me alone with Sookie and Pamela.

I was sitting on the sofa holding the baby when Sookie emerged from the bathroom in her robe and gown. Her hair was pinned up haphazardly and I watched, mesmerized as she released it and it fell about her shoulders. She snuggled up to me and I breathed in her delicious scent. She smelled like some sort of floral soap. I couldn't possibly identify which type of flowers she smelled like. All I knew was that I couldn't get enough of her. I was kissing her lips, her hair, her nose whispering how beautiful she looked when the baby started to cry, interrupting my trance.

Sookie took Pamela from me and casually unbuttoned the front of her gown. She exposed her breast and Pamela latched on, sucking happily. I was certain that my mouth was open as I realized that I was staring, and so I closed it and got up to get Sookie the glass of water that I was learning she liked to have when she nursed.

Once the baby was fed and tucked into her bed, Sookie returned to the sofa. She told me that Mr. Cataliades had switched her day off as she'd requested so that we could get married in the morning as we'd hoped.

Sookie

It had been a crazy and wonderful day. Eric and I got our marriage license. I was able to show my new fiancé off at work for a minute before Eric left to go back to Shreveport. Eric couldn't stay indefinitely at my house with just the clothes on his back obviously, and we didn't want to be apart for even one night, so we agreed that he would retrieve some clothes and return in the same day. We had so many decisions to make. Where would we live? Would I be able to quit working? I so desperately wanted to stay home with Pamela, but Eric had just gotten home and I had no idea what his plans were. He obviously could no longer fly planes, and I had no idea what else he wanted to do with his life. It felt wrong to ask even though it would certainly impact my life as well as his own. I wondered if it might be a painful subject to bring up—that he had become too disabled to continue doing what I knew he loved. These things would all be worked out in time. What mattered the most was that we were together.

So at the end of a long day, I took a bath and put Pamela to bed before sitting with Eric on the sofa in complete contentment. He took my hand and I could tell he had something he wanted to say. I sat up to listen as he began. "Sookie, I know that we've done things a bit unconventionally and our timing has been unusual to say the least, so I hope you'll forgive me if this seems like an odd time to do this." He carefully slid off of the sofa and got down on his good knee. I felt the tears start as I realized what such a posture must surely mean. He reached into his inside jacket pocket and withdrew the most beautiful ring I'd ever seen. I gasped as he said, "Sookie, will you marry me?" I nodded yes as the happy tears freely fell. I held out my left hand and we both kind of looked at it for a second. Then I removed the plain band as he slipped the diamond onto the same finger. He took the wedding band from me and placed it in his jacket pocket. "We'll need that one tomorrow, if that's okay." We both kind of laughed a little and then I just stared at the ring on my finger in awe.


	13. Chapter 13

Sookie

Eric got off of his knee and joined me on the sofa again. I was examining my new engagement ring, wondering where on earth Eric had gotten it. I had never seen a diamond that big before in my life and it was flanked by two beautiful blue stones that I assumed were sapphires. I told Eric that it was the most beautiful ring I'd ever seen. He smiled proudly and said, "I'm so glad you like it, love. It belonged to my mother."

"Oh, Eric. I can't accept this. Your sister should have it. It was her mother's."

"No, no, Sookie. It was actually Pam's idea to give it to you. I told her about your beautiful blue eyes and she insisted that this should be your ring. She even took it out of the safe herself."

"But if she ever wants it as her own…"

"No. Believe me, she won't. She already has our mother's engagement ring that she wears on her right hand. Just wait until you meet her. She's very unconventional. She didn't want to wait to find a man before putting diamonds on her hands, so she started wearing our mother's ring years ago. Our mother wore your ring on her right hand and called it her anniversary ring, although neither Pam nor I know for which anniversary it was given. But it was very special to her. It makes me so happy that you like it."

"I love it, Eric. I'm overwhelmed, really."

"Good. But if you'd rather pick out your own ring…"

I cut him off, "This is my own ring. I'll never take it off."

"Except for tomorrow. To put the wedding band back on."

"Right. Except for then."

We both started to smile at the thought of what tomorrow held in store for us. Eric touched my face, wiping the tears from my cheeks and placed the softest sweetest kiss on my lips. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held on to him fast while we tenderly kissed for a long time. I became very aroused, as I'm sure he did, but we never went any further than just holding each other and kissing. When Eric finally broke the kiss, he just kissed my neck, my hair, behind my ear, whispering over and over, "I love you so much."

Eric

Sookie said yes, or maybe she just nodded, I'm not sure. I was unexpectedly nervous and the details were a little lost on me. But the bottom line was that she loved the ring and we were both excited about getting married the next day. We sat on the sofa and kissed for a very long time before it started to feel late. We had both had a long full day and were feeling the effects. I took Sookie's hand and walked her into her room. I watched Pamela sleeping for a minute before kissing her gently and then gave Sookie one last goodnight kiss telling her that I couldn't wait until the morning when she would become my wife. I know I fell asleep with a smile on my face wondering what I had ever done to deserve such happiness.

Sookie

I slept a little later the next morning that I had the previous morning. It felt rather luxurious actually and when I came into the kitchen with the baby, Amelia and Eric were already having coffee. Eric jumped up and poured me a cup and toasted some bread for me and set a bowl of fresh berries in front of me. I felt very spoiled and told him so. He seemed to like that and rewarded me with a kiss on the cheek. Amelia gushed over my ring and I explained the significance of it as Eric's mother's anniversary ring. She and I both teared up a little and Eric chuckled at how sentimental we were but I could tell that he was proud that I loved it so much.

The wedding was in the courthouse and was simple and sweet. I wore my best suit which was a crisp lavender cotton with a white lace collar. Eric looked amazing in his crème linen suit. Amelia held Pamela who was dressed in a white lace dress that had been my mother's when she was a baby and Gran had kept in the cedar chest. My plain wedding band looked perfect with Eric's mother's ring as they were both white gold. Eric brought his father's simple gold band and I placed it on his finger as well. (It was unusual for men of Eric's father's generation to wear wedding bands, and so the heirloom was very special to Eric.)

Afterwards, we all celebrated with lunch at Merlotte's. Sam poured the champagne and the whole restaurant toasted to our future happiness. All of the women in the place admired my ring and the men shook Eric's hand. If there were any funny glances exchanged at the fact that our child had preceded our wedding, we certainly didn't catch them. People seemed genuinely happy for us.

Amelia parted with us at the bus stop. She had kindly and discreetly insisted that she wanted to spend the night at the Dawson's, leaving us the rest of the day and night to ourselves at the house.

When we got home, Pamela was hungry and so I got her fed and changed and settled down for a nap. I started to get out of my suit and Eric stopped me saying that he wanted to do that himself. I watched his face as he slowly unbuttoned and unhooked and peeled away each piece of clothing and carefully placed them on a chair. When I was naked before him, he whispered, "So beautiful," before he began to kiss my lips, my neck, my shoulders and his hands began to explore my body.

I said, "I don't quite have my figure completely back, but it will..."

He stopped me, "Sookie, you are more beautiful than ever to me. I am the luckiest man in the world."

I reached up and began to loosen his tie, unbutton his shirt. I removed his clothing at the same pace he had mine, lingering to touch the scar on his shoulder that I had stitched up a long time ago. When we were both completely free of our clothes, Eric pulled the covers on the bed back and picked me up, placing me gently on the bed. He climbed on top of me, kissed my mouth tenderly and then trailed his kisses down my neck. He reverently and gently kissed my breasts and then lowered his attentions to my stomach. "I wish I could have seen you when you were carrying Pamela. I missed so much."

"Well, you can watch me carry the next one."

He smiled up at me with a devilish twinkle in his eye. His hands gently parted my thighs and his kisses trailed even lower. I closed my eyes and rested my head back onto the pillow as I reveled in the new and amazing sensations of my husband pleasing me. I had never felt anything even remotely like what I was feeling as Eric was doing whatever it was he was doing. It was all overwhelming and amazing. I placed my hands on his head and he stopped just long enough to say, "Watch me, lover."

I opened my eyes to the most amazing sight and felt myself nearing the bliss that I had only experienced on one other night of my life. I was running my fingers through his hair, moaning and moving my hips in the same rhythm. I wanted Eric to know how much I was loving his attentions, but all I could manage to say was a mumbled, "So good," before my eyes involuntarily closed and I felt an explosion of pleasure. I was still in the throes of my climax when Eric crawled up my body and his tongue and lips found my mouth in a searing kiss. I reached down with both hands and wrapped my hands around him as I guided him where I wanted him the most. He plunged in with more force of course than the first time and we both groaned loudly at the pleasure. He was fast and forceful at first and I thought I would come undone at the power of the sensations. But then he slowed down and raised himself up, straightening his arms. I looked into his intense blue eyes and then let my eyes wander along his beautiful chest and arms. I reached up to touch his chest and caught sight of the rings on my left hand. Their meaning touched me so that I began to cry. Eric stopped and said, "Are you okay? Am I hurting you?"

"No, no, sweetie. I'm just so happy. I love you so much."

His lips crashed into mine and he resumed the faster more powerful rhythm and I let the feelings of joy and relief take me away as I wept openly and moaned in pleasure. I recognized the feelings inside me as well as Eric's breathing and pace and I knew what was coming. I closed my eyes, opened my mouth further to suck on his tongue and held on fast as we were both swept away in ecstasy together. Even as we came down from our mutual high, we continued the kissing and my tears didn't stop. Between kisses Eric told me he loved me and how happy he was. My emotions finally settled down to a simple and pure satisfaction as I held onto my new and very loving husband.


	14. Chapter 14

Eric

I had imagined my wedding day many times while I was in the war and I am certain that those fantasies kept me alive. But the reality of that day was nothing like I'd imagined at all. I never saw our beautiful baby daughter present in the arms of a good friend. I never expected to be toasting to our future in a bar in Louisiana. I never dreamed that our wedding night would actually be a wedding afternoon in which I would have full view of an even more curvaceous and delicious Sookie in the warm yellow sun of a lazy summer day. Sometimes life turns out to be better than you ever expected or dared to think that you deserved. My life certainly had gone in such a direction.

After we made spectacular love, we drifted off to sleep in each other's arms. I knew how hard Sookie had been working and she was always up several times a night with the baby so when Pamela began to cry, I got up to change her and then brought her back to the bed with me. I tried to position her at Sookie's breast without waking Sookie, but I wasn't certain of what I was doing. Sookie stirred and smiled and adjusted her body so that Pamela could nurse while Sookie drifted in and out of sleep. When she seemed done, I picked Pamela up and stood to burp her. I was rewarded with a shoulder full of spit up and took her into the kitchen to clean us both off. We sat on the sofa and I explained to her that I would be taking care of her from now on and I watched with amusement as she seemed to actually understand what I was saying. We stayed on the sofa for a long time chatting like that until she started to fuss again. I stood and paced with her until she was back to sleep. Once she was tucked back into her bed, I resumed my place beside Sookie. She sensed my arrival and turned on her side as I pressed myself to her back, spooning her to me and kissing her neck.

Sookie

I was sleeping so soundly when Pamela's cries woke me. I felt Eric get up to see to her and I fell back to sleep only to be awakened again by Eric trying to get Pamela to nurse. He was still pretty new to all of this so I helped him out, and was so happy to be able to let go of the reins and relax, knowing that Eric was on the job. Afterwards, I was drifting back to sleep but opened my eyes for a second to a very naked Eric (and oh my, what a view from behind!) pacing the floor burping the baby. I hadn't even realized how hard it had been taking care of Pamela alone because I just did what needed to be done, but I thought what a pleasure to be able to share in Pamela's care now. (Not that I wasn't grateful to Gran and then Amelia, but when I was at home, my energy was completely consumed by Pamela's care.) Eric may have missed the very beginning of Pamela's life, but he was clearly eager to make up for lost time. It touched my heart to see him being so gentle and sweet with her.

I slept some more until Eric joined me again in the bed and I felt him transition flawlessly from doting father to aroused newly wedded husband, ready for round two. So far, being married was pretty grand.

Eric

Sookie and I spent the afternoon and evening making love and celebrating our long overdue marriage. We took a break and fixed ourselves some dinner and while we were finishing up cleaning the kitchen I asked Sookie what she wanted to do about her job. She sighed deeply and took me by the hand to sit on the sofa.

"Here's the thing, Eric. I hate to complain. I'm not afraid of working hard and basically like my job and certainly do appreciate it and the income it has provided. Without it, I don't know what Pamela and I would have done."

"But I'm here now, love. The burden of earning money is off of you. It should have never been on you in the first place, but don't get me started. I already feel bad enough as it is."

"Honestly, I would love nothing more than to stay at home with Pamela, but I don't want you to feel pressured to make any decisions. You just got out of the hospital, sweetie. You're still recovering."

"Sookie, if you want to stay home, then just quit your job. I just want you to be happy, and if quitting would make you happy, then that's what you should do. You don't have to worry about the money, love. We have plenty of money."

"We do?"

"Yes, of course. I thought you knew that."

"No, I didn't. We have money?"

"Honey, my family…_our _family...owns many businesses. My parents left Pam and me quite well off. We can pick and choose which businesses we want to work in or choose a different path altogether. The businesses are all set up with managers in place. They have been since we lost our parents as kids. After that we just had legal guardians and each other. That's probably why we're so close. Oh sweetie, I'm sorry, I guess I just assumed that you knew that. I'm so used to people in Louisiana knowing the Northman name. I didn't even think that you might not know my family and who they were. Come here." I hugged her to me. "Do you need to give notice? Can we speak to Mr. Cataliades in the morning?"

"I'm pretty sure I need to give some sort of notice. We're already short-handed as it is, and he'll have to find a replacement. Of course, we'll free Amelia up to go back to her volunteer work, which will be a help, but they'll still need to find another surgical nurse." Sookie studied her ring thoughtfully and looked back up to me. "How much money are we talking about?"

"More than we could ever spend in our lifetime…or Pamela's. Plenty."

"Oh my god." And then she started to grin and giggle a little. "Oh my god."


	15. Chapter 15

Sookie

Eric is rich. I guess I am too. I had no idea. We were having the conversation that I was putting off because I felt guilty about wanting to quit work to be with Pamela when he just happened to mention that we didn't need the money. Maybe there are women who would prefer to work rather than stay home with their babies, but I'm not one of them. I did like my job for the most part but it didn't fulfill me as much as working in the Army in France had. There I felt like I was really making a difference. But my hospital job just felt like something I needed to do to survive single motherhood, and I hadn't enjoyed the daily reminder that I was alone and that Eric may not even be alive. I also felt more than a little uncomfortable since Quinn had asked me out and declared me his property in town. (He also had the very annoying and inappropriate habit of calling me "babe.")

So the morning after my wedding day I thanked Mr. Cataliades for all his kindness (and he had been very helpful in allowing me time off when Pamela was born and then again just after Gran's death). Then I asked him how much notice he needed for me to quit. He said that two weeks should be plenty and he offered his congratulations on my marriage.

Eric

Sookie gave her two-week notice the day after we were married. Amelia continued to take care of Pamela during the day. I loved spending time with Pamela, but was not confident with my child care skills to say the least. Prior to my coming to Bon Temps, I had never changed a diaper in my life. I was a fast learner however and highly motivated. As soon as I realized that Sookie and I had a child, I was thrilled about the news, but I really hadn't expected just how deeply I would fall in love with Pamela. Just watching her sleep made my heart ache in a way I had never experienced before. I wondered if all new fathers thought that their children were perfect. Well, I certainly did.

So for two weeks, I worked on Sookie's house while she was at the hospital. There were many families of women taking care of everything at home during the war and since Sookie's brother's departure, very little had been done in the way of home maintenance. Sookie was burdened with a full-time job and new baby (and before that a pregnancy that prevented her from any heavy physical labor) and I'm sure that her grandmother had had her hands full as well. So I cleaned out gutters, weeded gardens, fixed dripping faucets and squeaky door hinges. After Sookie's house was in better shape, I did the same for her brother's house which was sitting empty. I was able to forego the cane when at home for the most part, but still needed it for walking any real distance. My injuries did slow me down a little when I was in home-repair mode, but I was feeling a little stronger every day and happy to be of some help at the house.

Sookie

My last two weeks at work flew by. I loved coming home to Eric every night as well as Pamela. Eric was busy whipping the house into shape which I was extremely grateful for. I had let so many little things go. And then he also helped at Jason's place.

Once I was all through with work at the hospital, Amelia went back to her volunteer work, but she agreed to continue living at our house at my insistence. It was a great comfort to me to know that someone would be taking care of the house and I hoped that she and Tray would continue to live there when he came home and they could be married.

I was preparing myself and Pamela to move to Shreveport. I spent several days packing boxes and trunks to be shipped after we'd left. Admittedly, some days the packing went slowly because Eric and I were taking advantage of our new found privacy while Amelia was at the hospital. We were newlyweds, after all. We managed to christen every room in the house with the exceptions of Amelia's rooms upstairs of course. That would just be rude.

Eric

I must admit that I was thrilled when I watched the look on Sookie's face as we entered our home in Shreveport. Although I certainly couldn't take any of the credit for it, the house was quite spectacular without being pretentious. It had been our family's home for three generations.

Pam greeted us at the door along with Clancy and Felicia and soon the whole staff came down to meet Sookie and gush over the baby.

Sookie went to feed Pamela while I made a quick scan of my mail. Amazingly, Sookie's letter from December had arrived while I was in Bon Temps telling me that she was expecting and on her way home. I carefully removed the letter from my jacket pocket that I had kept with me every day since I'd received it and placed them both in our family's safe.

Sookie

I'm quite certain that my mouth was open as I stepped into the foyer of what was to become my new home. I had never been inside such a house, and now it was to be mine. Eric's sister and a handful of the household staff (Eric had a staff!) came to the door. They were all so sweet and made a fuss over how beautiful Pamela was. Eric's sister swore that Pamela looked just like her in her own baby pictures and I thought if she grows up looking anything like Pam, we would have to padlock her room to keep the boys away.

"We've put you three into the master suite. It's the only bedroom with a nursery attached. I hope you like it."

"I'm sure we'll love it. Thank you, Pam."

I started to apologize for not contacting her sooner about the baby but she dismissed my apologies saying that none of that mattered now. I also apologized because we'd gotten married so quickly that she was not able to attend the wedding. She just winked and said, "As far as I'm concerned that wedding happened way back before Pamela was born." I liked her immediately.

I got Pamela fed and settled into the most beautiful baby crib I'd ever seen. The whole room was decorated in pink and lavender which was in stark contrast to the dark wood and rich heavy rugs in our bedroom. The bedroom was the size of half my house and had two seating areas as well as a huge four-poster bed. I was standing by the bed admiring the handwoven spread when I heard the door close behind me and felt Eric's arms envelope me as he nibbled the back of my neck. "Are you hungry, Mrs. Northman?"

"Yes, I am."

"Can you wait for just a minute?" I felt a hand creep up my skirt and tug at my panties.

My breathing started to speed up. "Well, I suppose I could. I feel so sticky though from the train ride."

"And you're about to get even stickier, my love." My skirt was unzipped and sliding to the floor along with my panties. I was left with my blouse on as well as my stockings and garter belt. I started to step out of my shoes, but then decided that they would give me a little more height as I bent at the waist and stretched forward onto the bed in eager anticipation of something wonderful. I heard Eric's soft growl behind me as his fingers found me, followed swiftly by something much more satisfying. I tried to stifle my moans, knowing that there were other people in the house, but as I approached my second climax, I no longer cared. Eric came rather loudly as well, and I giggled as we unwound, asking him what the people in the house must think of us. "That we're happy, love. That we're just happy."


	16. Chapter 16

Sookie

The summer after Pamela turned six, Eric and I decided to take a trip back to France. The three of us spent ten glorious days in Paris seeing the sights before we ventured out into the countryside to find the LeClerq farm. Sophie-Anne greeted us like long lost relatives and Pamela took to her immediately. Sophie-Anne's father was kind enough to give up his bedroom, insisting that we take it for the duration of our visit.

The first night there, we were making up the sofa for Pamela when she commented that Sophie-Anne had a crocheted blanket just like hers at home. I told her that I had made it for Sophie-Anne while I was expecting Pamela and sent it here as a present because Sophie-Anne had been so kind to me. I fingered the soft wool and wistfully thought of how Gran had patiently taught me to crochet that spring and this blanket was my first project. I knew that if I looked closely that I would find the mistakes, but Gran said that those made it all the more special and convinced me to send it in spite of it's imperfections. It touched me that it was displayed so prominently on the sofa.

I told Pamela the story of how Sophie-Anne saved both Eric and me, but I made sure it was told in a way that wouldn't scare her. Pamela looked up at Eric and said, "Daddy, did you send Sophie-Anne a present too?"

"Yes, love, but nothing as special as Mama's present. I just sent some money."

Everyone laughed and Mr. LeClerq pointed out in his broken English the overhead light and kitchen faucet and then gestured in the direction of the bathroom, and I understood that Eric's money had allowed him to modernize the house. I looked questioningly to Eric and he told me that he had arranged for the money to be sent the day he went to Shreveport to get my engagement ring. That's why he'd wanted one of Sophie-Anne's letters—to have her address.

Later, when we were alone I told him that I was happy that he sent the money and he said that it was the least he could do. Sophie-Anne's kindness had changed our lives and neither of us could express our gratitude enough for that. When we made love that night in the same bed where Pamela had been conceived, we were both thoughtful, pensive, emotional. I thought of how frightened I'd been the morning after as we'd said our hasty good-byes, wondering when or if I'd ever see Eric again. And now we were both so grateful at how our lives had turned out. We knew how lucky we were, and coming back to this place reminded us in a very special and sobering way.

Eric

Sookie and I spent three weeks in the country with Pamela visiting the LeClerqs. It was the best vacation we could have imagined. Pamela loved playing with the animals and took to Sophie-Anne like a long-lost aunt.

Sookie and I both knew she was pregnant even before she missed her period. After six years of trying, apparently all we needed to do was to return to that magical place.

When we got back to Shreveport, we turned what had become our study back into a nursery. For this pregnancy, I didn't miss a day and loved watching Sookie's body change and become even more beautiful.

Sophie-Anne Stackhouse Northman was born nine months to the day after our arrival at what we now call the Magical Farm. She was perfect and Sookie did just fine. Pamela couldn't have been more excited about her new baby sister and my own sister fell in love all over again with her new niece. Sookie's brother even made more frequent trips to Shreveport for visits after Sophie-Anne's arrival.

I've spent a lot of my time thinking about how close I came to never knowing the kind of happiness our family has brought us. I never take a single day for granted. I remember what it felt like to be afraid that I would never see Sookie again, never hold her or tell her how much I loved her. And now, as I watch her with our beautiful daughters filling our family home again with love and laughter I am grateful every day that those feelings I remember from a long time ago feel a world away. It's not something I'm likely to ever forget.

XXX


End file.
